Monmouthshire County Council

Monmouthshire County Council is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales.

The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. As of May 2021, the council is led by Richard John, with Robert Greenland and Sara Jones as deputy leaders. The leader of the opposition is Dimitri Batrouni. The chief executive is Paul Matthews.

A Monmouthshire County Council was originally formed in 1889, covering the administrative county of Monmouthshire. The council was based at Shire Hall in Newport. In 1891 Newport became a county borough and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the county council, although the council continued to be based there. The council was abolished in 1974, being absorbed into Gwent. However, a new Monmouthshire County Council was formed in 1996 covering the principal area of Monmouthshire. This council was a successor to the previous Monmouth District Council along with a small part of the former Blaenau Gwent District Council area, which had also been created in 1974.