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Even though the National Assembly election only saw one seat change hands we will still have more than 20 new AMs when the newly-elected members take their seats in the Senedd.

A large number of established Assembly Members standing down, as well as the fact Ukip has claimed seats for the first time, means the new Assembly will have a very different look to it.

While some of the 22 new members are veterans of the political scene, including several former MPs, some are comparatively new to the game.

Arfon

Sian Gwenllian (Plaid Cymru)

A first-time AM, Sian Gwenllian held the Arfon seat for Plaid after Alun Ffred Jones stood down. The Gwynedd councillor previously worked as a journalist for the BBC and HTV in Bangor before going into politics. She raised four children on her own after her husband, Dafydd Vernon, died of cancer 16 years ago. Following her election she promised constituents: “I am looking forward to Monday when I shall be going to Cardiff. That’s when the real work begins and I won’t let you down.”

Caerphilly

Hefin David (Labour)

The Caerphilly councillor is a senior lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He was selected to stand for the seat after Jeff Cuthbert decided to stand down. Following his selection he said: “Caerphilly is my community, it’s where I was born and brought up and I’ve always lived here. I want to make a difference and do my best for everyone who lives here.” He was born and brought up in Caerphilly and lives there with his wife and baby daughter.

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr

Adam Price (Plaid Cymru)

Having left politics six years ago, the 47-year-old former MP has now made the journey from Westminster to the Senedd. He credits "standing in the pouring rain on a picket line with my father and brother" as his inspiration to enter the world of politics and says he is returning to the fray "a more rounded person – equally passionate, but less partisan".

Cynon Valley

Vikki Howells (Labour)

A teacher from Cwmdare, she was elected to replace the retiring Christine Chapman at the Senedd. She was selected in December after the constituency Labour Party was forced to choose a new candidate after original selection Rhys Lewis stepped down for ‘personal reasons'. Ms Howells, a history teacher and assistant head of sixth form at St Cenydd Community School in Caerphilly, said a career in politics was "a challenge I am ready to take on".

Delyn

Hannah Blythyn (Labour)

Newcomer Hannah Blythyn took 41% of the vote to hold the seat for Labour as she replaced Sandy Mewies. Speaking after securing her seat in the Assembly she said: “My main political priorities are the health of the communities are services and also driving investments and jobs to the area. It’s all well and good having jobs away from the area but it is important we have good jobs here especially for our young people.” The former LGBT Labour co-chair, she becomes one of the first openly gay politicians elected to the Welsh Assembly.

Islwyn

Rhianon Passmore (Labour)

Another new face in the Senedd, the Caerphilly councillor and cabinet member for education is a former teacher who has led various voluntary organisations before being appointed to the National Probation Board and the BBC Broadcasting Council of Wales. The mother of four secured a 5,106 majority.

Who's who? The full list of Welsh AMs

Llanelli

Lee Waters (Labour)

Born and raised in Llanelli, the director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs think tank faced a strong challenge from former Plaid Cymru AM Helen Mary Jones. The married father of two graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, with a first-class degree in politics. After working in the House of Commons, National Assembly for Wales, and US House of Representatives, he became a news producer for BBC Wales. He went on to work for ITV Wales, becoming chief political correspondent where he presented a weekly programme and reported from Parliament as a lobby correspondent.

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

Dawn Bowden (Labour)

The current Unison Cymru head of health, she is an experienced case worker, advocate, negotiator, public speaker and campaigner. She has been elected to replace the outgoing Education Minister Huw Lewis. Originally from Bristol, she has lived in Wales for 30 years. She has been an active member of the Labour party for more than three decades.

Neath

Jeremy Miles (Labour)

Born and brought up in Pontarddulais, Welsh speaker Jeremy Miles read law at Oxford University. After graduating he taught law at Warsaw University in Poland before later practising as a solicitor in London. He then held senior legal and commercial posts in media businesses before returning to Wales and running a consultancy firm. Elected for the first time, he lists his hobbies as films, reading, cooking, hiking and cycling.

Newport West

Jayne Bryant (Labour)

Newport-born Jayne Bryant has retained the seat held by outgoing Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler. The first in her family to go to university, she is an active trade unionist who has worked in Australia and London as well as Newport, Cardiff and the Rhondda. Away from the political fray she counts herself as a keen rugby fan, following Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons.

Ogmore

Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour)

Politics runs in the family for Huw Irranca-Davies. His uncle was Gower MP Ifor Davies who was deputy to Cledwyn Hughes at the Welsh Office in Harold Wilson's Government. Having worked for local authorities in leisure management and private sector management he later returned to higher education as a lecturer. He became an MP in 2002 but left Westminster behind to stand as an AM. Having been born Huw Davies, he merged his name with wife Joanna following their marriage.

Ukip get their first seats and Labour lose Rhondda The full results from Assembly Election 2016

The regional list AMs

North Wales

Nathan Gill (Ukip)

Nathan Gill is Ukip's current MEP and the party's leader in Wales. His family moved to North Wales in the 1980s and he went to school at Ysgol David Hughes and Coleg Menai. He now lives on Anglesey. He will have to step down as an MEP to take his seat in Cardiff Bay.

Michelle Brown (Ukip)

The 46-year-old lives in Mostyn and is a former lawyer who works in the engineering sector. In a post on her website she outlines her priorities, writing: "Scarce Welsh money should not be spent on vanity projects like buying Cardiff Airport, PR campaigns or the gravy trains in local authorities but on education, the NHS and providing the infrastructure the people of Wales need to prosper."

South Wales East

Mark Reckless (Ukip)

Mark Reckless defected to Ukip from the Tories in September 2014 – just four years after he was elected as the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood. He won a by-election in November 2014 to serve as a Ukip MP but lost his seat in the general election of May 2015. He was a noted Tory rebel, casting 56 votes against the whip during his time as a Conservative MP. The 45-year-old is an Oxford University graduate and former economist for an investment bank. He is married with two children.

David Rowlands (Ukip)

It might be a short-lived stint in the Assembly for David Rowlands. He was was fourth on the Ukip list during the last European elections in 2014. With the first on the list, Nathan Gill, having become an AM, second-placed James Cole having quit the party, and third-placed Caroline Jones also winning a spot in the Senedd the party expects Mr Rowlands to take up the vacant Ukip seat in Brussels.

It was a bad night for the Tories Five lost battles that cost the Conservatives

Steffan Lewis (Plaid Cymru)

Steffan Lewis fought the Islwyn constituency but, despite losing out there, will become an AM through the regional list system. He also fought the seat at the last general election.

South Wales West

Dai Lloyd (Plaid Cymru)

Having sat as an AM between 1999 and 2011 Dai Lloyd is returning to the Senedd following a five-year absence. During his time as an AM he served as Plaid's Shadow Finance Minister and spokesperson on Social Justice, Local Government and Regeneration. His professional background is as a GP.

Caroline Jones (Ukip)

Former Tory Caroline Jones failed in her bid to become the Conservative Police Commissioner for South Wales in 2012. She is a former teacher and prison service employee who has two small businesses in Porthcawl and Bridgend.

Leanne and Kirsty's popularity plus the rise of Ukip Six things we have learned from the Assembly election results so far

Mid and West Wales

Neil Hamilton (Ukip)

Arguably a politician who needs no introduction, this is his first elected position since the then Tory MP was ousted from his Tatton seat by anti-sleaze campaigner Martin Bell in 1997, amid allegations – which he has always denied – that he had taken cash for asking questions in Parliament. Along with his wife Christine he appeared on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and on an infamous interview with Louis Theroux. But now he is back in elected office – and there are even suggestions he could attempt to become leader of the Ukip group in Wales.

Eluned Morgan (Labour)

(Image: Richard Swingler)

A former Labour MEP, she was the youngest of all MEPs when first elected to the European Parliament in 1994 at the age of 27. She sat there until 2009 and now sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Morgan of Ely. Until July 2013 she worked as director of national development in Wales for SSE (Swalec). She is married to GP Rhys Jenkins and has two children – Arwel and Gwen.

South Wales Central

Gareth Bennett (Ukip)

Gareth Bennett formerly stood as Ukip's candidate in Cardiff council's Riverside by-election in October last year. If you didn't hear much about him then you almost certainly did during this campaign. He courted controversy after he criticised the multiracial character of Cardiff and blamed “unhygienic” Eastern Europeans for rubbish problems in the capital, prompting calls from within his own party for him to be deselected. He has previously written three books on Cardiff City and and a book of local history called The Little Book of Cardiff.

Neil McEvoy (Plaid Cymru)

(Image: keith morris)

The leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Cardiff council, he narrowly lost out to Mark Drakeford in Cardiff West but nevertheless became an AM through the regional list system. A former deputy leader of the authority, he has been an outspoken voice in local government for several years. Away from politics he follows Cardiff City.