Ben Bowen Thomas

Sir Ben Bowen Thomas (1899 – 26 July 1977) was a Welsh civil servant and university President. He served as Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Department of the Ministry of Education from 1945 to 1963, and was President of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth from 1964 to 1975.

Life

Thomas was born in 1899 in Ystrad Rhondda, and was educated at Rhondda Grammar School, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Jesus College, Oxford. Influenced by the adult education movement, he spent five years as a university tutorial class lecturer before becoming the first warden of Coleg Harlech when it was founded by Dr Thomas Jones in 1927. He remained there until 1940, when he moved to the Ministry of Labour and then the Ministry of Education. He was also involved with the work of Unesco, becoming a member of its Executive Board and later chairman (1958–1960). During his time at the Ministry of Education, he worked for improved standards in Welsh schools and for Welsh language tuition (he was a fluent Welsh speaker). He retired from the civil service in 1963, becoming President of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1964 and serving until 1975. He was also Chairman of the Baptist Union of Wales (1966–1967). Apart from his knighthood, he was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wales and an Honorary Fellowship by Jesus College. He died on 26 July 1977 in Bangor, Gwynedd.cite news|title=Sir Ben Bowen Thomas – A force in Welsh education|work=The Times|date=29 July 1977|page=16]

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