Paul Ronald Pearce is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 representing Coogee

Electoral district of Coogee

Coogee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Bruce Notley-Smith of the Liberal Party.-Members for Coogee:-Election results:...

 between 2003 and 2011

New South Wales state election, 2011

Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...

 for 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...

.

Pearce was educated at Granville Public School, Bronte Public School and Sydney Boys High School

Sydney Boys High School

Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...

. He has received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 and Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 from the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 and a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 from the University of London External Programme

University of London External Programme

The University of London International Programmes is a division of the University of London that manages external study programmes.Several colleges and institutes of the University of London offer degrees through the programme, including Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, Heythrop College, Institute of...

. He was self-employed in the textile industry between 1977-1997 and was a councillor of Waverley Municipal Council

Waverley Municipal Council

Waverley Municipal Council is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...

 between 1983 and 2004, serving as Mayor of Waverley between 1997 and 2004. From 1996 to 2001, he was the director of the Southern Sydney Waste Management Board. He stood unsuccessfully for the federal seat of Wentworth

Division of Wentworth

The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman...

 in 1993, 1996 and 1998.

While Mayor of Waverley Council, Pearce was noted for his pony tail, but this was ruled out by Labor party organisers at the 2003 election.

At the 2011 state election, Pearce lost the seat of Coogee to Liberal Party of Australia

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 candidate and former City of Randwick

City of Randwick

The City of Randwick is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of Sydney's largest parks, Centennial Park, lies within the city boundary of Randwick. Other major landmarks in Randwick include the world-famous Randwick Racecourse,...

 Mayor Bruce Notley-Smith

Bruce Notley-Smith

Bruce Neville Notley-Smith MP , an Australian politician, is a Councillor and former Mayor of the City of Randwick, and is a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Coogee for the Liberal Party of Australia since 26 March 2011.-Early years and background:Notley-Smith grew up...

.