Janet Fraser

Janet Fraser (née Munro, formerly Kemp; 31 January 1883 – 7 March 1945) was a New Zealand community leader and the wife of Peter Fraser, who was the 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1940–49) during the Second World War. She was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 31 January 1883.[1]

Janet Fraser
Spouse of the Prime Minister of New Zealand
In role
27 March 1940 – 7 March 1945
Preceded byEmma Serena Forbes
Succeeded byFlorence Beatrice Holland
Personal details
Born
Janet Munro

(1883-01-31)31 January 1883
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died7 March 1945(1945-03-07) (aged 62)
Wellington, New Zealand
Spouses
Frederick Kemp
​
​
(m. 1903; div. 1919)​
    ​
    (m. 1919)​
    Children1 (with Frederick Kemp)
    OccupationCommunity leader

    Biography

    Fraser grew up and was educated in Glasgow where she taught orphans and had been influenced by the writings of Robert Blatchford.[1] Janet sometimes used her maternal grandmother's surname, Henderson, as a middle name. She married Frederick George Kemp on 25 November 1903. She left for Auckland, New Zealand, in 1909 with her first husband, Frederick George Kemp and her son, Harold.[2]

    In Wellington, she met Peter Fraser in 1911, who she worked with during the flu epidemic in 1918.[2] After her divorce from Kemp on 4 October 1919, she married Peter Fraser on 1 November 1919.[2] Fraser donated much of her time to child welfare and health issues in New Zealand.[3] She was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935.[4]

    In the late 1930s, Fraser recommended efforts to help pregnant women have access to pain medication during childbirth.[5]

    When her husband became Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1940, she traveled with him and acted as a "political adviser, researcher, gatekeeper and personal support system."[2]

    During World War II, she was in charge of the official women's war effort and brought Polish refugee children to New Zealand.[2] In August 1943, she greeted Eleanor Roosevelt on her visit to New Zealand.[6] Janet Fraser died on 7 March 1945 in Wellington, and was buried at Karori Cemetery.[7]

    Honours

    In 2021, Janet Fraser and Peter Fraser, in recognition of their help for the Polish children were awarded by the President of Poland with Virtus et Fraternitas Medal.[8]

    References
    1. Stace, Hilary. "Janet Fraser". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
    2. Ewan, Elizabeth; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Sian, eds. (2006). The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women: From the Earliest Times to 2004. Edinburg: Edinburgh University Press. p. 128. ISBN 0748617132.
    3. Patterson, Brad; Brookin, Tom; McAloon, Jim (2013). Unpacking the Kists: The Scots in New Zealand. Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 9780773589780. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
    4. "Official jubilee medals". The Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
    5. Smith, Philippa Mein (2012). A Concise History of New Zealand (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 9781107402171.
    6. "Eleanor Roosevelt Visits New Zealand". NZ History. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
    7. "Cemeteries search". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
    8. "Janet, Peter Fraser - Instytut Pileckiego". instytutpileckiego.pl. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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