Peter Hughes Griffiths will not take part in the selection process

Peter Hughes Griffiths said candidates for the �100,000-a-year post must be able to speak Welsh and he will refuse to take part in interviews.

But the council said when it first advertised the job with Welsh being 'essential' only five people applied.

The decision was taken to re-advertise without the language requirement.

Because of the strong bi-lingual nature of the county . . . a monoglot English speaking individual would not be able to fulfil the requirements of the post Peter Hughes Griffiths

A similar controversy five years ago saw the authority backtrack when it tried to appoint a non-Welsh speaker as director of education.

Councillor Griffiths said: "I'm concerned at the possibility of a non-Welsh speaker from England being appointed in a bi-lingual county where three-quarters of schools teach through the medium of Welsh.

"There is a wide-ranging brief attached to this key post.

"Because of the strong Welsh and bilingual nature of the county, along with these responsibilities, a monoglot English-speaking individual would not be able to fulfil the requirements of the post.

"Ceredigion advertised and filled a similar post recently where esential linguistic requirements were included."

Councillor Griffiths will address a public meeting over the row at St Peter's Civic Hall in Carmarthen at 1830GMT on Friday along with MP Adam Price and AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas.

Right calibre

Members of the teaching unions, school governors and local education organisations are expected to attend.

A short-list of candidates has been drawn up and the interviewing process is set to start on 12 January.

Executive board member for life-long learning, Mary Thomas, said the council had initially looked for a Welsh speaker.

"At the time only five applications were received and a high percentage of those were not considered to be of the right calibre for a position of this magnitude," she said.

"In such circumstances it is good practice to try and attract from a wider field.

"This has been done and there has been a marked increase in applications, with 22 received, including applicants from Welsh speakers.

"This post is about ensuring the management and delivery of excellent services to the young people of Carmarthenshire.

"To do this, we are looking for the very best person and we have been pleased by the response."