Frances Mary Bladel (born 3 October 1933) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the

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. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

from 1986 to 2002, representing the seat of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

for the Labor Party.

Early life and teaching career

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Bladel was raised in Moonah during the last years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Her first job at the age of 15 was as a photographic assistant to a Russian portrait photographer. In 1954, she married young German immigrant Erwin Bladel, and they had a son, however Erwin died when their child was three years old, leaving her as a widow and single mother. Bladel worked as a cleaner and barmaid to support them, then gained mature-age entry to the University of Tasmania where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Teacher Training Certificate. She commenced a career as a teacher, working at

Hobart High School Hobart High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, situated in the village of Loddon, near Norwich in Norfolk, England. It typically has around 850 pupils. The school previously had specialist science college status ...

and as senior English teacher at Bridgewater High School. Inspired by the Vietnam War to get involved in politics, Bladel joined the Australian Labor Party, and in 1978, co-authored a study which surveyed the electoral consequences of the limited number of female Labor MPs in Australian parliaments.

Political career

In 1986, Bladel was elected to the

as a Labor member for

. In July 1989, she became a minister in the newly elected Labor government of Michael Field, as Minister Assisting the Premier on the Status of Women and Minister for Administrative Services. On 13 November 1989, Consumer Affairs was added to the Administrative Services portfolio, and on 8 February 1991 she was also made Minister for Construction. In 1992, the Field Labor government was defeated by the Liberal Party. Bladel remained a member of the House of Assembly, and returned to the ministry when Labor regained office in 1998 as Secretary to Cabinet. From May 2000, she served as acting Minister of State Assisting the Premier, and from October 2001 to January 2002 was acting Minister for Education. In 2002, she resigned her seat in the House of Assembly to contest the Legislative Council seat of Huon, where she was defeated. Her vacancy was filled by

Neville Oliver Neville Laurence Oliver (born 11 November 1944) 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 Fra ...

in a countback, and Bladel retired from politics.

Recognition

In 2006 Bladel was inducted to the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women for service to Government, Education and the Community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bladel, Fran 1933 births Living people Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian schoolteachers University of Tasmania alumni Politicians from Hobart Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly