1. Florence Isabel Bjelke-Petersen was an Australian politician.
15 Facts About Florence Bjelke-Petersen
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was a member of the Australian Senate from 1981 to 1993, and was the wife of the longest-serving Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was styled as Lady Bjelke-Petersen upon her husband's knighthood, and was known informally as Lady Flo.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was raised at the Brisbane riverside suburb of New Farm.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was employed as a private secretary to the Queensland Commissioner for Main Roads when she met Johannes Bjelke-Petersen, who was then a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was preoccupied with home duties until well after Joh Florence Bjelke-Petersen became Premier in 1968.
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At the 1980 federal election, against the wishes of party president Robert Sparkes, Joh Florence Bjelke-Petersen arranged for his wife to be placed in the number one position on the National Party's Queensland senate ticket, ensuring her election.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen's term was due to commence on 1 July 1981 on 6 February 1981, Queensland Senator Glen Sheil resigned, creating a casual vacancy.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was appointed on 12 March 1981 for the remainder of Sheil's term, and then continued into her own term.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen crossed the floor 18 times during her career, the 12th-most of any MP between 1950 and 2019 and the second-most by a woman after Kathy Sullivan.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was frequently referred to as "Lady Florence" or "Lady Flo".
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen was re-elected at the 1983 and 1987 elections, and her term expired on 30 June 1993, when she decided to retire.
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On 20 December 2017, Florence Bjelke-Petersen died at the age of 97 after suffering a short illness.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen died in Kingaroy at Orana Aged Care where she had resided since August 2014.
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Florence Bjelke-Petersen published a cookbook which included her recipe for her trademark pumpkin scones.