:1996 in Wales

• Secretary of State for Wales – William Hague
• Archbishop of Wales – Alwyn Rice Jones, Bishop of St Asaph
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
• John Gwilym Jones (outgoing)
• Dafydd Rowlands (incoming)

• 1 January - Michael German is awarded the OBE for his public and political service.{{London Gazette |issue=54255|date=30 December 1995 |page=11 |supp=y}}
• 15 February - The Sea Empress, an oil tanker, runs aground off Milford Haven, causing devastation to the west Wales coastline.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/uk_the_sea_empress_disaster/html/1.stm|title=In detail: The Sea Empress disaster|website=BBC News|access-date=15 April 2019}}
• 1 April - The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 comes into force, creating 22 unitary authorities.{{cite book|author=Neil Hawke|title=Introduction to Administrative Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BaZeAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|date=17 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-35177-9|pages=41}}
• 3 April - The first EuroHowl is held in Aberystwyth, Wales.
• 29 June - The Prince's Trust concert in Hyde Park, London is attended by 150,000 people.{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Giuliano|title=Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_zYB4irg8UC&pg=PA311|year=2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8154-1070-6|pages=311}}
• 18 July - Howard Hughes is sentenced to life imprisonment at Chester Crown Court for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno 12 months previously. The trial judge recommends that Hughes, 31, should never be released.{{Cite news|title=Life for child murderer|work=Financial Times|location=London|date=19 July 1996|page=1|id={{ProQuest|248284536}}}} {{subscription required}}
• 28 August - The Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court of Justice in London, the first time in history that a Prince of Wales has successfully gone through a divorce. By negotiation, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled, Diana, Princess of Wales.
• November - The Owain Glyndŵr Society is founded.
• date unknown
• The Church in Wales ordains its first women priests.
• South Wales Constabulary changes its name to South Wales Police.

• Sir Anthony Hopkins opens the Cliff Tucker Theatre at the University of Wales, Lampeter.
• Alice Thomas Ellis is dismissed as a columnist on the Catholic Herald newspaper because of her attack on the reputation of the late Archbishop Derek Worlock.
• Steve Balsamo stars in a West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

• Glyndŵr Award - Jan Morris
• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Ffairfach, near Llandeilo)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - R. O. Williams[http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/eisteddfod/2011/sites/guide/history/pages/past_chair.shtml BBC - Eisteddfod Chair Winners]. Accessed 26 August 2013
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - David John Pritchard[http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/eisteddfod/2011/sites/guide/history/pages/past_crown.shtml BBC - Eisteddfod Crown Winners]. Accessed 26 August 2013
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld
• Wales Book of the Year:
• English language: Nigel Jenkins, Gwalia in Khasia
• Welsh language:
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen - Eirug Wyn, Smoc Gron Bach

• Ron Berry - This Bygone
• Ruth Bidgood - The Fluent Moment
• Gillian Clarke - The Whispering Room
• Keith Kissack - The Lordship, Parish and Borough of Monmouth
• Howard Marks - Mr Nice
• Kenneth Morris - The Dragon Path
• Tim Rishton - {{lang|no|Liturgisk orgelspill}}

• Prince Valiant filmed at Gwrych Castle.

• John Cale - Walking on Locusts
• Peter Maxwell Davies - The Doctor of Myddfai (opera)
• Gillian Elisa - Rhywbeth yn y Glas.
• Karl Jenkins - Diamond Music
• Donna Lewis - Now in a Minute
• Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic.

• The Broadcasting Act 1996 changes the funding formula for S4C.

• Heno (Welsh-language news programme, broadcast until 2001 and returned in 2012).

• Barry Welsh is Coming
• In the Blood, presented by Steve Jones

• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Ryan Giggs{{cite web |title=BBC Wales Sport Personality winners |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/20670643 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=2 August 2021}}
• Football
• The Welsh Football Trust is founded.
• Llansantffraid F.C. win the Welsh Cup and are offered sponsorship by Total Network Solutions.
• Snooker
• Mark Williams wins the Welsh Open tournament in Cardiff.{{cite web|url=http://www.snooker.org/trn/9596/wo_res.shtml|title=Regal Welsh|date=21 April 2012|website=snooker.org}}

• 25 February - Laura Halford, rhythmic gymnast
• 25 April - Kizzy Crawford, Bajan-Welsh folk-pop crossover singer-songwriter
• 17 May - Seb Davies, rugby player
• 25 July - Jarrod Evans, rugby player
• 1 August - Gemma Evans, footballer
• 14 September - Shaun Evans, rugby player
• 2 October - Keston Davies, footballer
• 28 November - Owen Evans, footballer

• 16 January - Dai Ward, footballer, 61
• 7 March - Aled Eames, historian, 74{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-aled-eames-1342090.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-aled-eames-1342090.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription|title=Obituary:Aled Eames|date=15 March 1996|author=Basil Greenhill|website=The Independent|access-date=11 August 2019|author-link=Basil Greenhill}}{{cbignore}}
• 11 March - Sir Granville Beynon, physicist, 81{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-professor-sir-granville-beynon-1342292.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-professor-sir-granville-beynon-1342292.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription|title=Obituary:Professor Sir Granville Beynon|date=16 March 1996|author=John Meurig Thomas|website=The Independent|access-date=11 August 2019|author-link=John Meurig Thomas}}{{cbignore}}
• 14 March - Dewi Bebb, Wales rugby union player, 57{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-dewi-bebb-1342091.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-dewi-bebb-1342091.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Obituary:Dewi Bebb|date=15 March 1996|author=Robert Cole|website=The Independent|access-date=11 August 2019}}{{cbignore}}
• 16 March - Harry Peacock, Wales rugby union player, 87
• 14 April - Mervyn Levy, artist and critic, 81{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-mervyn-levy-1347766.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-mervyn-levy-1347766.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Obituary:Mervyn Levy|date=17 May 1996|author=Ceri Levy|website=The Independent|access-date=11 August 2019}}{{cbignore}}
• 7 May - Taffy Williams, soldier, 62
• 27 July - Billy Rees, footballer, 72
• 29 August - Dillwyn Thomas, cricketer, 91
• 5 September - Clem Thomas, rugby player, 67
• 24 September - I. E. S. Edwards, Egyptologist, 87
• 26 October - Huw Owen, theologian and academic, 69{{cite web |last=Knibb |first=Michael |date=2 December 1996 |title=Obituary: The Rev Professor Huw Parri Owen |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19961202/ai_n14075559?tag=content;col1 |accessdate=5 March 2009 |work=The Independent |publisher=findarticles.com}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
• 10 November - Dafydd Orwig, politician and academic, 68{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dafydd-orwig-1353445.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dafydd-orwig-1353445.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription|title=Obituary:Dafydd Orwig|date=21 November 1996|author=D. Ben Rees|website=The Independent|access-date=11 August 2019|author-link=D. Ben Rees}}{{cbignore}}
• 9 December
• Diana Morgan, playwright and screenwriter, 86
• Ivor Roberts-Jones, sculptor, 83{{cite book|title=Who was who|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Btjc3DN_WX0C|year=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-29366-6|page=307}}
• 29 December - Pennar Davies, poet and theologian, 85
• date unknown
• Thomas Nathaniel Davies, artist and teacher{{cite book|author=Philip Vann|title=Face to Face: British Self-portraits in the Twentieth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNYxAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Sansom|page=143}}
• Thomas David Frank Evans, WWII prisoner-of-war
• Harry Hanford, footballer, 88
• Thyrza Anne Leyshon, painter, 103

• 1996 in Northern Ireland

{{reflist}}

Wales

Category:1996 in Europe

Category:1990s in Wales