Victoria Kirstyn Williams (born 19 March 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from December 2008 to May 2016 and subsequently from June 2017 to November 2017 in an acting capacity. Early and personal life Williams was born in Taunton, Somerset to Welsh parents, whilst her librarian father was working there. After moving to Liverpool, in 1974 the family moved to the village of Bynea, Carmarthenshire, where she grew up. Educated at the independent St Michael's School, Llanelli, she then graduated from the Victoria University of Manchester with an honours degree in American studies, including a period studying at the University of Missouri. She then returned to work for the learning resources department of Carmarthenshire College in Llanelli, before taking up a post as a marketing and public relations executive for a small business in Cardiff. She is married to a farmer; the couple have three daughters and live on the family farm outside Brecon. Political career Williams joined the Welsh Liberal Democrats at the age of 15. In the 1997 general election, she contested the constituency of Ogmore, coming third. For a long time she was a keen advocate of a Welsh Assembly, and she campaigned hard in the 1997 referendum for the creation of the National Assembly for Wales. She was subsequently appointed to the National Assembly Advisory Group by Welsh Secretary Ron Davies. She was elected as an Assembly Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire in May 1999. In her first term she became her party's health spokesman. She also served as Chair of the Welsh Assembly Health and Social Care Committee between 1999 and 2003. In the 2006 Welsh Yearbook Political Awards, she was voted "Member to Watch 2006" In a poll at the end of 2006, Williams was voted "Sexiest Female Liberal Democrat" on Stephen Tall's Liberal Goes a Long Way blog. On 8 December 2008, Williams became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, having defeated Cardiff Central Assembly Member Jenny Randerson. In 2011, as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, she agreed to support the Welsh Labour Government's 2012–2013 £14.5bn Budget on the basis, amongst other things, of securing the Welsh