Annie Powell

Annie Powell (8 September 1906 – 29 August 1986) was a Welsh Communist politician, teacher, and trade unionist who served as Mayor of Rhondda from 1979 to 1980, making her the first Communist mayor in Wales and widely recognised as the first female Communist mayor in Britain. Born into a Welsh-speaking family in Ystrad, Rhondda, Powell witnessed the poverty of the Great Depression during her early teaching career, which led her to join the Labour Party and subsequently the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1938.

A dedicated educator for four decades, Powell taught in Welsh throughout her career and was active in the National Union of Teachers. She became a prominent figure in the CPGB, serving on its Executive Committee for 20 years and chairing the Welsh Committee for 25 years. Powell contested Rhondda East at several general elections from 1955 and, after thirteen attempts, was elected as a Communist councillor for Penygraig in 1955, later serving continuously from 1961 to 1981. She represented the CPGB at international conferences, notably impressing Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev with her rendition of the Welsh national anthem at the 1960 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties in Moscow.