[1] Harper was born in Brisbane, and worked as an accountant before entering politics.
[1] Harper was a Liberal Party branch chairman, secretary and treasurer.
In 1995 he was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Mount Ommaney.
Appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Arts Minister in 1997, he lost his seat to a Labor candidate in 1998.
His funeral was held at St Catherine's Anglican Church, Middle Park, Brisbane on Friday 10 November 2017 and was buried that day at Centenary Memorial Gardens in Sumner.