Alexander Hean was born in Lochee, Scotland on 11 June 1859 and was educated at Highlanders' Academy. He arrived in Tasmania on the 'Greenock' in 1877 where he took up farming on 'Glen Rae' property at Wattle Hill. He married Amy Mary Eliza Allanby at Bream Creek on 6 July 1882. They had 4 sons and 4 daughters. He was first elected to Parliament in April 1903 for the seat of Sorell, which later became part of th electorate of Franklin. He served until 1913 and then again from 1916 to 1925. From 1909 to 1912 he sat under the anti-Socialist platform which subsequently became the Liberal Party and after 1919 was renamed the Nationalist Party. He held various portfolios but the longest were Minister for Lands (1904-12 and 1919-22), Minister for Agriculture (1904-12), Minister for Railways (1904-12) and Minister for Mines (1905-09). He was appointed a JP for the district of Sorell in 1900 and from 1921 to 1922 served as a JP for the State. He served as a councillor on the Sorell Council from 1886 to 1906 and warden from 1899 to 1904 where he also served on the Sorell Licensing Bench of the Sorell Board of Health from 1889 to 1923. The Hean Pennant in district football was donated by him. He was awarded the CMG in 1919. He died in Sorell on 11 January 1927 and is buried with his wife at Scots cemetery in Sorell.