Frances Mary "Fran" Bladel (born 3 October 1933) is a former Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, she holds a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 (Hons). In 1986, she was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 as a Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 member for Franklin

Division of Franklin (state)

The Electoral Division of Franklin is one of the five electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The division is named after Sir John Franklin, the arctic explorer who was Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land 1837-43...

. In 1989 she became a minister, serving until 1992 and again 2001–2002. In 2002 she resigned her seat to contest the Legislative Council

Tasmanian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart...

 seat of Huon

Electoral division of Huon

The Electoral division of Huon is one of the fifteen electorates or seats in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. It was created in 1999, however similar electorates of this name have existed since 1900 , and members of the Tasmanian upper house for this region appear to have been elected since 1856...

, where she was defeated. Her vacancy was filled by Neville Oliver

Neville Oliver

Neville Laurence Oliver is a former Australian politician. Before entering politics, he was an ABC sports commentator. On 22 April 2002, he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor member representing Franklin in a recount following the resignation of Fran Bladel. Oliver...

in a countback, and Bladel retired from politics.