Janet Fraser

Janet Fraser (formerly Kemp, née Munro; 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 (1940–1949) during and after the Second World War. She was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 31 January 1883.

Biography Fraser grew up and was educated in Glasgow where she taught orphans and had been influenced by the writings of Robert Blatchford.

In Wellington, she met Peter Fraser in 1911, whom she worked with during the flu epidemic in 1918. She was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935.

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

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."

Janet Fraser died on 7 March 1945 in Wellington, and was buried at Karori Cemetery.

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