Jonathan Evans was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire in 1950. He was educated at Lewis School Pengam, Howardian High School, Cardiff and the Law Society's College of Law in Guildford and London.

He trained with solicitors Leo Abse and Cohen in Cardiff from 1968 and joined the firm upon qualification in 1973 rising to Managing Partner in 1987.

In 1992, he was elected to Parliament as MP for Brecon and Radnor. He served as Corporate Affairs Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry in the last Conservative Government. He also served as Under Secretary of State for Wales and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Lord Chancellor.

In 1997, he was appointed Director of Insurance in the City of London office of Eversheds, the major global law firm and remains a consultant to the practice. He has also acted as a consultant on London Insurance market issues to several major North American insurance corporations.

He is a former Deputy Chairman of the Welsh Housing Corporation (Tai Cymru). In 1995 he was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. (FRSA).

In 1999 and again in 2004, Jonathan successfully stood for election as the Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Wales. He was Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament from 2001 until 2004.  In the European Parliament he is Conservative spokesman on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.  He is Chairman of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with the United States of America.

Jonathan is married to Margaret and has three children – Angharad, Rhianydd and Nicholas