page_title: Ceredigion
section_title: Government
hierarchical_section_title: Ceredigion / Government
caption_attribution_description: English: one of the historic counties of Wales
context_page_description: Ceredigion is a principal area of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Welsh is spoken by more than half the population. Ceredigion is considered to be a centre of Welsh culture. The county is mainly rural with over 50 miles of coastline and a mountainous hinterland. The numerous sandy beaches and the long-distance Ceredigion Coast Path provide excellent views of Cardigan Bay.
  In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Cardiganshire had more industry than it does today; Cardigan was the commercial centre of the county; lead, silver and zinc were mined and Cardigan was the principal port of South Wales prior to the silting of its harbour. The economy became highly dependent on dairy farming and the rearing of livestock for the English market. During the 20th century, livestock farming became less profitable, and the county's population declined as people moved to the more prosperous parts of Wales or emigrated.
context_section_description: Between 1888 and 1974, the county was governed by Cardiganshire County Council, which took over the functions of county administration from the Quarter Sessions court in 1889. The county council was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 — and it was succeeded by the district of Ceredigion in the larger county of Dyfed.  Becoming a unitary authority on 1 April 1996, with the name of Cardiganshire, the following day its name changed to Ceredigion with, apart from some minor realignments, identical borders to the historic county.
  A referendum was held on 20 May 2004 on whether to have a directly elected mayor for the county, the first in Wales. The Llais Ceredigion political initiative had been formed with this aim, but the proposal was rejected.
caption: Ceredigion, as shown with traditional boundaries
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