William Arthur "Bill" Neilson AC (27 August 1925 – 9 November 1989) was Premier of Tasmania from 1975 to 1977.

Born in Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, and educated at Ogilvie High School

Ogilvie High School

Ogilvie High School is an all girls public high school in New Town, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the only public all girls school in the state, the only other public single-sex school being New Town High School for boys....

, Neilson became a postman. He married Jill Benjamin, daughter of Phyllis Benjamin

Phyllis Benjamin

Phyllis Jean Benjamin AO MBE , Australian Labor Party politician, was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in the electorate of Hobart from 10 May 1952 until retirement in 1976....

, in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 in 1948. They had one son Andrew and three daughters, Christine, Carol and Robin.

Neilson was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly

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...

 on 23 November 1946 at the age of 21, representing the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 (ALP). For many years he was not only the youngest MHA in Tasmania, but also the youngest person to be elected to any Australian parliament.

He held various cabinet offices, including those of Tourism Minister and the Attorney-Generalship. He was Minister for Education for over ten years from 1958 to 1969, and again from 1972 to 1974. He was made Attorney-General again on 12 April 1974, and five days later was also made Deputy Premier, Police Minister and Environment Minister. When the Premier Eric Reece

Eric Reece

Eric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975.-Biography:...

 was forced to retire due to his age, Neilson was elected Tasmanian Leader of the ALP and Premier of Tasmania, on 31 March 1975. He resigned as Premier, and from Parliament, on 1 December 1977.

After his term as premier, Neilson accepted the position as Agent-General for Tasmania in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In the 1980s, he wrote as a theatre critic for The Mercury

The Mercury (Hobart)

The Mercury is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, part of News Limited and News Corporation...

newspaper in Hobart.

He died in November 1989, aged 64.