Wilde was born Frances Helen Kitching on 11 November 1948 in Wellington, New Zealand. She attended St Mary's College and later at Wellington Polytechnic and Victoria University. Upon finishing her education Wilde gained employment as a journalist. In 1968, she married Geoffrey Gilbert Wilde, and the couple went on to have three children before divorcing in 1983. She joined the Labour Party in 1972 and was later the editor of the party newsletter, New Nation. She later became the chairperson of the electorate in which she resided and a member of Labour's executive council in the Wellington region.
Wilde was a Member of Parliament for the seat, winning it from sitting National MP Ken Comber in the 1981 general election. Wilde retained the seat at the subsequent 1984 general election. In 1985, Wilde moved what became the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, which legalised homosexual acts in New Zealand between consenting men. The 16-month debate about the bill polarised the country, and sparked violent demonstrations and angry rallies at Parliament. Her other main legislative achievement in Parliament was an AdoptionReform Act, which made it possible for adopted people and their birth-parents to contact each other. Wilde was Labour's junior Parliamentary Whip from 1984 to 1987, before serving as an Associate Minister outside Cabinet in the Foreign Affairs, Housing, Conservation and Pacific Island Affairs portfolios and Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control in the second term of the Fourth Labour Government. When Geoffrey Palmer became Prime Minister, Wilde was promoted into Cabinet and appointed Minister of Tourism alongside her continuing roles as Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Minister of External Affairs and Trade. Between 1990–92, in Opposition, she was Labour's spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.
Mayor of Wellington
In 1992 she resigned from Parliament to stand for Mayor of Wellington. Her seat was retained by Labour, with Chris Laidlaw winning the 1992 by-election caused by Wilde's resignation. She won the Mayoralty, and remained in office until 1995 when she chose to retire. During her time as Mayor, Wilde worked to improve Wellington's image and continuing on from the city's strong anti-nuclear sentiments she declared Wellington a Peace Capital in 1993. Wilde also spearheaded initiatives like the planning and construction of the WestpacTrust Stadium which features an elevated accessway to its entrance known as the "Fran Wilde Walk" which was opened in June 2005. After leaving the mayoralty Wilde was appointed the chair of the Housing New Zealand board and, from 1997 to 2003, chief executive of Trade New Zealand.
Wilde returned to local politics in 2004, successfully contesting a seat on the Wellington Regional Council. It had been suggested that she would retire after a single term; however, Wilde was re-elected to the Regional Council in 2007 and was elected, by her fellow councillors, the chair of the council on 30 October that year. She was returned as both a councillor and the chair in 2010 and 2013. Wilde was a strong proponent of the super city proposal for Wellington. When the Local Government Commission rejected the proposal, Wilde received a letter signed by nine of her fellow councillors asking her to stand down as chair. Wilde stepped down from the chair's position from 30 June 2015, but remained a regional councillor. She was succeeded as chair by Chris Laidlaw and did not stand for re-election in 2016.
Following her departure from the Regional Council, Wilde was appointed as the Chair of the Remuneration Authority. She has also served as the deputy chair and acting chair of the NZ Transport Agency. Wilde was appointed to the board of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in 2015. She became the board's deputy chair in January 2019, and has been its chair since 1 July 2019. Wilde is on the board of Kiwi Can Do, an organisation which helps unemployed New Zealanders get back into work.
She has three adult children from her first marriage to Geoffrey Wilde. Her husband Christopher Kelly was CEO of Landcorp and a former veterinary surgeon.
