Dean Wells (politician)

Dean MacMillan Wells (born 13 January 1949) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1986 to 2012[1] and was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1983 to 1984.

Born of Australian parents in Hiroshima, Japan, he was educated at Monash University before becoming a lawyer. Later, he was a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Queensland and an author and political commentator. In the autumn of 1981 he lectured at Saint David's University College, Lampeter in Wales. In 1983, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Petrie, defeating sitting Liberal member John Hodges. Hodges defeated Wells in 1984. In 1986, Wells was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the member for Murrumba, and in 1989 was appointed Attorney-General, a position he held until 1995. In 1998, he was appointed Minister for Education; in 2001 he was shifted to become Minister for the Environment, a position he held until 2004.[2] He was defeated in the 2012 election by the Liberal National Party's Reg Gulley.