Carmarthenshire County Council has a new Chair after Cllr Giles Morgan was elected to the role at the authority’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.
The Swiss Valley Ward member takes over the chain of office from Cllr Dot Jones, who he paid tribute to on taking the chair — thanking her for her service to the council.
Cllr Morgan said: “I’m honoured to be elected Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and I look forward to the year ahead.”
His wife, Mrs Claire Morgan, will serve as his Consort throughout the coming year, with Cllr Betsan Jones, the member for Betws, appointed as Vice-Chair.
After the ceremony, Cllr Morgan took to Facebook to say he was looking forward to getting around the whole county to meet people and organisations — and was delighted that his parents had been there to see him take up the role.
The appointment makes Carmarthenshire the third south-west Wales authority in less than a week to inaugurate a new civic figurehead. Swansea schoolfriends Cllr Penny Matthews and Cllr Susan Jones were inaugurated as Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor at Swansea Guildhall on 15 May, while music teacher Cllr Alan Lockyer was installed as Mayor of Neath Port Talbot at Margam Park the same day.
The Chair is the first citizen of Carmarthenshire County Council and is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting.
Duties include chairing full meetings of the council and representing the authority at formal and ceremonial occasions throughout the county.
The Chair is also responsible for welcoming visitors to Carmarthenshire and attending and supporting events organised by local people and organisations across the area.
Cllr Morgan has served as a County Councillor since 2004, bringing more than 20 years of local government experience to the role.
He currently chairs the council’s Corporate Performance and Resources Committee and also sits on the Audit Committee.
For his year in office, Cllr Morgan has chosen two charities — Dementia UK and Blood Cancer UK.
Dementia UK provides specialist dementia nurses, known as Admiral Nurses, who offer one-to-one support to families living with all forms of dementia — including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
Blood Cancer UK funds research into leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers, and provides support to patients and their families.
The charity was previously known as Bloodwise — a name it held from 2015 until March 2020, when it rebranded to make its purpose clearer to the public. Before that, it operated as Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
Cllr Morgan’s election as Chair marks the beginning of a new civic year for the council, with a full programme of ceremonial and representative duties expected across Carmarthenshire over the next 12 months.
If Cllr Giles Morgan wants to go around Carmarthenshire to meet people then so be it, but at his own expense, and not from our rates.