David Hughes
(he/him)

Research student

I have just embarked on a part-time PhD at Cardiff after a long career as an EU Official. I worked for the European Commission for nearly 30 years in a wide variety of posts, including Head of the European Commission Office in Wales from 2012 to 2020.

My BA was in Modern History and Politics (University of Reading) and I later did a Masters in European Literature and Languages at Queen Mary College, London. Later again I did a Masters in EU Law at Leicester University. More recently I also took some part-time courses at Masters level at the Humboldt University in Berlin related to European Integration and historiography.

My PhD project is entitled "Wales and the European Union: a History" and aims to provide a historical understanding of the relationship between Wales and the EU from the long process of the UK joining to its departure from the EU at the end of January 2020.

I'm really interested in and enthused by this project. It's a story which has not been told but I feel ought to be be.

Thesis

Wales and the European Union: a History (part-time)

My part-time PhD aims to provide a historical understanding of the relationship between Wales and the EU from the long process of the UK joining to its departure from the EU at the end of January 2020.

1994 - 2022: EU Official at European Commission (Brussels-Cardiff-Berlin). Posts included:
- 2020-2022, Political Analyst at Representation of European Commission in Germany. Berlin.
- 2012-2020, Head of EU Office in Wales. Cardiff.
- 1994 - 2012, posts included Member of 3 Cabinets, Head of Unit, Assistant to Director-General, covering a wide range of policy areas. Brussels.
1992-94. UK Cabinet Office, Member of European Fast Stream of UK civil service. London.
1990-92. Further Education Lecturer in Modern European History, Government and Politics. London.
1987-1988. Teacher of English as a Foreign Language. Stuttgart and Munich.
BA in Modern History and Politics (University of Reading, 1985)
MA in European Literature and Languages (Queen Mary College, London, 1992)
MA in EU Law (Leicester University, 2002)
Part-time courses at Masters level at the Humboldt University, Berlin, inter alia on European Integration and historiography. (2023)