John Osmond (born 1946) is a Welsh writer, journalist, former political candidate for Plaid Cymru, and think tank director. He has contributed to numerous books on the subjects of Welsh politics, culture and devolution, and is also a former television producer. Osmond was the founder director of the independent Welsh think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs in 1996 until May 2013.[1] In 2018 he published the first of a trilogy of documentary novels, Ten Million Stars are Burning, which together record the history of Wales between the 1979 and 1997 devolution referendums. Between 2018 and 2022 he was Special Adviser to Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price.
John Osmond was born in Abergavenny in 1946. He attended King Henry VIII Grammar School, before moving on to study for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Philosophy and Politics at the University of Bristol. In 2004 he was awarded an honorary MA by the University of Wales. He has three children.[2]
Upon leaving University, Osmond began working as a reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post. He returned to Wales in the 1970s to work for the Western Mail newspaper as a reporter and Welsh Affairs Correspondent. During the 1980s he worked for HTV Wales, helping launch the current affairs programme Wales this Week and producing a number of documentary series, including The Divided Kingdom for Channel 4. He was Deputy Editor for Wales on Sunday between 1988 and 1990.
In the 1990s Osmond formed his own television company, Agenda Productions, producing programmes for the BBC, HTV, Channel 4, S4C and STV.
In 1996 Osmond became the founding director of the Welsh think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, retiring in 2013. In May 2007 he stood for election for the Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency in the National Assembly for Wales Election, representing Plaid Cymru and received 24.7% of the vote. However, Conservative candidate Paul Davies won the seat, defeating Tamsin Dunwoody, the Welsh Labour incumbent, he stood again, unsuccessfully, in 2016 finishing third and winning just 13.9% of the vote.
Osmond was the editor of a radical magazine, Arcade: Wales Fortnightly, which was published between 1980 and 1982.
He has held a number of notable positions:
Osmond has contributed to a number of books on Welsh politics, culture and devolution; the titles of which are given below.