Francene Jen Cosman (born January 14, 1941) is a former nurse, businessperson and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

, Canada. She represented

Bedford-Fall River Bedford was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Kelly Regan. The electoral district was created in 1978 as Be ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia Each General Assembly of the ...

from 1993 to 1999 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member. Cosman was born in 1941 at

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

and received her R.N. from

Saint John General Hospital The Saint John General Hospital was a public hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick. The hospital was completed in November 1931 and cost $1.6 million to construct. Built on a hill near the center of the city, the 12-storey building, topped with a ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

and continued her studies at the Margaret Hague school in Jersey City, New Jersey. Cosman served as a member of the municipal council for Halifax County from 1976 to 1979 and was mayor of

Bedford, Nova Scotia Bedford is a community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada. History The area of Bedford has evidence of Indigenous peoples dating back thousands of years. Petroglyphs are found at Bedford Petroglyphs National Historic ...

from 1979 to 1982. She was president of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council Status of Women from 1982 to 1986. Cosman entered provincial politics in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, defeating Progressive Conservative

Peter J. Kelly Peter J. Kelly (born 1956 or 1957) is a municipal civil servant, businessman and former politician. Kelly is the former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, who was fired in May 2022. He is a forme ...

by 393 votes in the Bedford-Fall River riding. A backbench member of the John Savage government, she served as Deputy Speaker. When

Russell MacLellan Russell Gregoire MacLellan (born January 16, 1940) is a Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999. Early life MacLellan was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Federal politics He was first elected to the Ho ...

took over as premier in July 1997, he appointed Cosman to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is simi ...

as Minister of Community Services. Cosman was re-elected in the 1998 election, defeating Progressive Conservative

Peter G. Christie Peter G. Christie (March 9, 1941 – May 31, 2021) was a Canadian accountant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Bedford-Fall River and then Bedford in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2006 as a Progressive Conse ...

by 313 votes. She retained the community services portfolio in a post-election cabinet shuffle, but was given an additional role in cabinet as Minister of Human Resources when MacLellan shuffled his cabinet in December 1998. Cosman did not reoffer in the 1999 election.

References

Entry from Canadian Who's Who
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosman, Francene 1941 births Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Mayors of places in Nova Scotia Women MLAs in Nova Scotia Women mayors of places in Nova Scotia Politicians from Windsor, Ontario Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Bedford, Nova Scotia Women municipal councillors in Canada Women government ministers of Canada