Eric Lance Bedford (18 February 1928 – 8 July 2006) was an Australian politician, affiliated with the Labor Party and elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
Bedford was born at Concord, NSW, and attended Fort Street Boys High School before studying at Sydney Teachers College and embarking on a teaching career in country areas.
[1] While at Liverpool Boys High, Bedford met Gough Whitlam and enquired about rejoining the Labor Party, of which he had been a member in his youth.
He later served as Gough Whitlam's campaign director at the 1966 election, and Whitlam persuaded Eric to stand for state parliament in the seat of Fairfield, which was vacant as a result of a redistribution.
[2] He received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and was invested with the Red Danice Hrvatske (Order of the Croatian Daystar) for services to education.