Eric James Bessell (6 June 1923 – 10 March 1979) was an Australian politician. Born in Launceston,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, he was a pastoralist before serving in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He served as President of the Tasmanian

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1966 and 1973. In 1974, he was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

as a Liberal Senator for Tasmania. He was defeated in 1975 after being demoted to sixth place on the ballot paper to make way for real estate agent Brian Archer and nurse Shirley Walters. Bessell died in 1979.

References

1923 births 1979 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub