A woman whose parents fled a brutal military dictatorship has been appointed Wales' new children's commissioner.

Rocio Cifuentes arrived in the country as a one-year-old with her parents - political refugees from Chile.

Her father, Jose, has written about how he was imprisoned and tortured after General Augusto Pinochet took power.

Ms Cifuentes will take up her position in April 2022 when Sally Holland's tenure ends.

The first minister said he was proud Ms Cifuentes was taking over the role, which acts as a watchdog for children's rights in Wales.

Ms Cifuentes is the chief executive of Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team (EYST), a Welsh organisation supporting black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, having led the organisation since it began in 2005.

Mark Drakeford said: "The role of children's commissioner for Wales is an extremely important one - the pandemic has caused huge disruption to the lives of children.

"That's why it's so important to continue to have a strong voice to speak up for them and to inform our decision-making."

Ms Cifuentes family came to Swansea in 1977 after they left Chile fearing their safety.

During the left-wing government of Salvador Allende, Jose Cifuentes and his partner Maria Cristina were student activists working to help the poor.

Pinochet's military coup violently brought the Allende government to an end in 1973 - those on the left were persecuted, and the 17 years of dictatorship that followed saw 3,000 people killed or missing.

In his book, Revolutionary Dreams From Chile To Wales, Mr Cifuentes wrote about how he himself was taken prisoner and was tortured by soldiers who beat and electrocuted him.

"What we went through was something no ordinary person could grasp," he told Wales Online in 2018.

"It is something extraordinary in terms of the brutality, illegality and cruelty of knowing through no fault of your own, your life is at risk 24 hours a day, every day, every month."

Paying tribute to the current children's commissioner Sally Holland, Mr Drakeford said: "From embedding children's rights in key places of legislation, to providing an insight into children's experiences of the pandemic, via the large-scale, internationally renowned 'Coronavirus and me' surveys, Sally Holland has made an impressive and long-lasting contribution to a generation of children in Wales."

A cross-party panel of Senedd members recommended Ms Cifuentes, who studied at Cambridge and Swansea universities, for the position.

Before being chief executive of EYST she previously worked for the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations, Swansea Young Single Homelessness Project, Gower College and Swansea University.

Ms Cifuentes said: "It's an immense honour and privilege to be appointed as the children's commissioner for Wales.

"As the first minister says, the role of commissioner will be more important now that it ever has been, delivering for the generation of children that have lived through coronavirus.