Rick Frances

Richard "Rick" Frances (born 1938) is a former Lovian politician whose efforts to reform Lovia into a full democracy have had a great impact on the political structure of the nation. He was Lovia's first Prime Minister from February 2003 to January 2007.

Early life
Richard was only child to Miriam Jora and James Frances. Rick's mother was an immigrant from Romania and his father was a second-generation Lovian and a well-known doctor in Noble City. Richard grew up in the city's southern neighborhoods. Before entering politics in the late 1980s, Frances was a surgeon at the Noble City General Hospital. He and his father were very close. James Frances died in 1994.

Political career
Frances was Governor of Sylvania for four consecutive terms from 1990 through 1998. As Governor, he held an automatic seat in the Royal Legislative Council, then a semi-democratic legislative body. When Governor membership of the council was abolished in 1992, Frances was democratically elected to the council. In 2001, Frances proposed to establish a fully democratic parliament. In 2003, the first national elections were held and Frances was elected on a Freedom First (F1) ballot. He became Lovia's first Prime Minister and would lead a coalition government for four years. In 2007, he was succeeded by Jude Almore (KP), who was then succeeded by Yuri Medvedev (PDP).

After the 2007 Congress, led by the King's Party, Frances retreated from politics, feeling "a new generation had to stand up for Lovia."

The Freedom First party was dissolved in 2008. Frances has since supported liberal and libertarian politics. He has voted for the Walden Libertarian Party in 2009 but is now known to be in support of the Liberal Arts Party.

Personal life
Frances has been married to Rita D. Frances (née Sennett) since 1969. They have three children: Ben (born 1970), Helen (1973) and Geoffrey (1976). Rita Frances is a former professional pianist.