1985 in Wales

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – Diana
• Secretary of State for Wales – Nicholas Edwards
• Archbishop of Wales – Derrick Childs, Bishop of Monmouth
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Elerydd

  Events

• 3 March – The UK miners' strike formally ends. Among the mines not reopening is Bedwas Navigation Colliery.
• 16 May – Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland are convicted of murder at Cardiff Crown Court and jailed for life. The previous November, at the height of the miners' strike, they had caused the death of a taxi driver by dropping a concrete block onto his car as it passed under a bridge.
• 29 June – The A55 Colwyn Bay bypass is completed.
• 4 July – At the Brecon and Radnor by-election local farmer Richard Livsey takes the seat for the Liberals.
• 20 December – Swansea City A.F.C., struggling in the English Third Division just three years after being in the First, are issued with a winding-up order in the High Court and are at risk of closure and being forced out of the Football League.
• exact date unknown
• *Terry Matthews sells his stake in Mitel to British Telecom.
• *"Cefn" is founded to campaign for the civil rights of Welsh speakers.
• *The Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies is founded at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
• *Seventeen women are prosecuted on conspiracy charges after the occupation of a nuclear bunker near Carmarthen.

  Arts and literature

• Robat Powell becomes the first Welsh learner to win the Chair at the National Eisteddfod.

  Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Robat Powell
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - John Roderick Rees
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Margaret Dafydd

  New books

English language

• Alice Thomas Ellis – Unexplained Laughter
• Lady Olwen Carey Evans – Lloyd George Was My Father
• David Hughes – The Pork Butcher
• Christopher Meredith – This
• Robert Minhinnick – The Dinosaur Park
• John Powell Ward – The Clearing
• Ivor Wilks – South Wales and the Rising of 1839

  Welsh language

• Geraint Bowen – Cerddi
• Bryan Martin Davies – Lleoedd
• Glanmor Williams
• *Harri Tudur a Chymru
• *Grym Tafodau Tân
• Eluned Phillips – Cerddi Glyn-y-Mêl

  Music

• Downtown Julie Brown makes her debut on Club MTV.
• "Dwylo Dros y Môr", performed by various artists, is the Welsh charity song released in coordination with Band Aid.
• Aled Jones – Aled Jones With The BBC Welsh Chorus
• Living Legends – Better Dead Than Wed

  Film

• Jonathan Pryce stars in Brazil.
• Richard Marquand directs Jagged Edge.

  Welsh-language films

• None

  Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Helfa Drysor
• Sam Tân

  English-language television

• 10 September – ITV broadcasts the Wales vs Scotland World Cup qualifying match live from Ninian Park in Cardiff. Scotland manager Jock Stein collapses and dies in the stadium's first aid room.

  Sport

• Horse racing – Hywel Davies wins the Grand National on "Last Suspect".
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Steve Jones, marathon runner

  Births

• 2 January – Mark Evans, actor
• 9 January – Elen Evans, rugby player
• 23 February – Shaun Hopkins, rugby player
• 3 March – David Davies, swimmer
• 8 April – Gareth Rees, cricketer
• 16 April – Mark Baker, historian and author
• 13 May
• *Iwan Rheon, screen actor
• *Danny Thomas, footballer
• 28 May – Rhys Davies, golfer
• 16 June – Craig Morgan, footballer
• 17 July – Tom Cullen, actor
• 11 September – Daniel Parslow, footballer
• 19 September – Alun Wyn Jones, international rugby union captain
• 10 October – Marina Lambrini Diamandis, singer
• 14 December – Alex Pennie, musician
• 15 November – Simon Spender, footballer
• 25 December
• *Leon Pisani, pop singer
• *Perdita Weeks, actress
• 28 December – Nicola Davies, footballer
• date unknown – Claire Jones, harpist

  Deaths

• 19 January – Tom Richards, athlete, 74
• 26 January – David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech, 66
• 9 March – John Tudor Jones, journalist, poet, critic, broadcaster, and translator, 81
• 29 March – Rae Jenkins, violinist and conductor
• 4 April – Kate Roberts, author, 94
• 21 April – Owen Temple-Morris, barrister and politician, 88
• 22 April – Sir Thomas Parry, academic, 80
• 8 May – Tom Hooson, politician, 52
• 9 June – Clifford Evans, actor, 73
• July - Roger Ashton, footballer, 63
• 1 September – Saunders Lewis, writer, 91
• 14 September – Niel Morgan, cricketer and diplomat, 81
• 17 September – Laura Ashley, designer, 60
• 18 September – Iorwerth Evans, rugby player, 79
• 28 October
• *Harold Davies, Baron Davies of Leek, politician, 81
• *Leslie Harris, cricketer, 70
• 1 November – Bruce Dargavel, singer
• 4 November – Hilda Vaughan, novelist, 93
• 17 December – Gwyn Richards, dual-code rugby player, 79
• 27 December – Len Richards, footballer, 74
• date unknown – Dewi-Prys Thomas, architect