Cast your minds back to the 1990s.....the Conservatives had been in power since 1979 and Labour, led by a young upstart by the name of Tony Blair, were pretenders to the throne in the run-up to the 1997 General Election.
Labour promised the people of Wales that, if elected, they would allow a referendum to be held on whether or not Wales should have its own Assembly.
Meanwhile, back at EA headquarters in London, a working group was set up to see how the EA should respond to the foreseen changes in the political environment, with a Parliament for Scotland looming on the horizon as well as an Assembly in Wales.
With Labour being returned to power with a resounding majority in May 1997, the stage was set for referendums to be held in the Celtic fringes of Wales and Scotland. The "yes" vote for a Welsh Assembly won through in the end - albeit by the slimmest of margins (50.3% for, 49.7% against) - and the devolution cogs were set in motion.
In October 1998, a full seven months before the first elections were held for the inaugural Assembly, Dan Boucher was appointed as EA Wales's National Assembly Research Assistant. Eleven months later, with the Assembly duly elected and operational, Dan became the Evangelical Alliance National Assembly Liaison Officer, with the honour of representing evangelical churches to the National Assembly.
Dan performed his duties with distinction and stayed in the post until 2005, when he passed on his mantle to Jim Stewart
