[2] Dafydd Elis Thomas was born on 18 October 1946 at Priory Hospital, Carmarthen, and brought up in the Llandysul area of Ceredigion, and in Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley.

[5] Between 1993 and his death, he lived in Llandaff, Cardiff (when working at the Senedd), and Betws-y-Coed (which was in his constituency of Meirionnydd Nant Conwy prior to the 2010 boundary changes).

Thomas was noted for the number of questions he tabled during his time in parliament, through which he secured economic support for Wales, bolstered the status of the Welsh language and played a leading role in thwarting the closure of the Cambrian Coast railway.

[3] During his tenure as Presiding Officer, he expelled Assembly member Leanne Wood from the Assembly chamber during a December 2004 debate after Wood referred to Queen Elizabeth II as "Mrs Windsor" during a debate and refused to withdraw the remark, the first time an AM was ordered out of the chamber.

[14] From 2011, Elis-Thomas was Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for Environment, Energy and Planning before transferring to Rural Affairs, Fisheries and Food in 2012.

[16] He announced on Dewi Llwyd's BBC Radio Cymru programme on 12 April 2020 that after long consideration and realising that there were many other ways to serve society, he would not be standing for Dwyfor Meirionnydd in the 2021 Senedd election.

[5] On the eve of the 2016 EU referendum, he and two Labour AMs sponsored a Senedd debate on the motion "The National Assembly believes Wales would be stronger, safer and more prosperous if it were to remain a member of the European Union"; it passed by 44 votes to 9.