Val Feld

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Valerie Feld (born Valerie Breen Turner; 29 October 1947 – 17 July 2001) was a Welsh Labour politician. She was born in Bangor, studied at the Abbey School in Malvern, and married John Feld in 1969, with whom she had two children. She worked as a journalist in London, then as a social worker and housing adviser in Lancashire. After their marriage ended in 1981, she moved back to Wales and founded Shelter Cymru, becoming its first director. She earned an MA in Women’s Studies at Cardiff University and, in 1989, became head of the Equal Opportunities Commission for Wales, a role she held for ten years.

She was a local Labour councillor in Chorley and led Welsh devolution campaigns, serving as Treasurer of the Yes for Wales campaign in 1997. She helped ensure the Government of Wales Act 1998 included equal opportunities provisions. Feld was elected as Assembly Member for Swansea East and served from 1999 until her death in 2001. She chaired the Assembly’s Economic Development Committee until May 2001.

Val Feld died of cancer on 17 July 2001, the first Assembly member to die in office, which triggered a by-election. She is remembered as a social activist who fought for equality and social justice. In 2017, the Purple Plaques campaign honored her with a plaque on the Senedd building, and she is recognized by the Women’s Equality Network Wales as a significant Welsh woman.