Neville Kenneth Wran was born on the 11th October 1926, in the central Sydney suburb of Paddington, though he is most well-known as a product of the then working-class suburb of Balmain. Educated at Fort Street High School in Petersham and the University of Sydney, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1948, and progressed through a career in the law to become a Queen's Counsel in 1968.
Wran was elected to the NSW Legislative Council, the upper house, in 1970, though he instead stood for the Western Sydney seat of Bass Hill in 1973. He challenged the Opposition Leader, Pat Hills, with the support of both the Right and the Left sections of the Party. In 1976, shortly after the tumultuous events of the Dismissal, when the Labor Federal Government under Gough Whitlam was sacked by the Governor-General and then defeated at the subsequent election, NSW Labor produced a one-seat victory, followed by the so-called 'Wranslide' of 1978. Throughout his leadership of the NSW Government and afterwards, Wran (nicknamed 'Nifty Nev', or often just 'Nifty') became known for his popularity, which at times exceeded 80%, and his ability to win elections.
From his election in 1978 until his retirement in 1986, Labor under Neville Wran set out on a programme of reform and social change. The Government set out increasing public spending, extending trading hours for business, doubling the number of National Parks, developing many of the landmarks of Sydney that now distinguish it, such as Darling Harbour, the Entertainment Centre, Parramatta Stadium and the Opera House foreshore, bringing in random breath testing for drivers to cut the road toll, and establishing stringent consumer affairs legislation to protect shoppers.
Wran has been a lifelong democrat and, through the 1990s and beyond, a keen advocate of an Australian Republic. As a response to an undemocratic and obstructionist Upper House, the Wran Government sponsored a referendum to change the voting method for the Legislative Council, bringing in the Party-based preferential voting system used today, which more accurately represents electoral support.