Peter Fraser

Born, 1884, Scotland

Died, 1950, Wellington, New Zealand, aged 66

Labour Party Prime Minister from 1 April 1940 to 13 December 1949

Peter Fraser was born in Fearn, Scotland on 28 August 1884. His schooling finished early with Fraser becoming an apprentice carpenter but he continued to educate himself, largely in economics. At the age of 16 he became secretary of the local Liberal Association and in 1908 he joined the Independent Labour Party.

In 1910, being jobless, Fraser emigrated to New Zealand arriving in Auckland in January 1911. He worked as a labourer and on the wharves, becoming President of the Auckland Labourers' Union. He also joined to NZ Socialist Party and was Michael Joseph Savage’s campaign manager for Auckland Central.

In 1913 Fraser moved to Wellington and became secretary of the Social Democratic Party. He remained active in the union movement and was arrested in November 1913 for breaching the peace. He strongly opposed the WWI and played a leading part in forming the Labour Party in 1916. Later that year Fraser was arrested again – this time for sedition for advocating repeal of conscription and served a full year in jail.

Fraser was elected MP for Wellington Central in 1918 and in 1919 became editor of the Labour Party newspaper and remained in this role for around a decade. That year he also married Janet Munro. In 1920 he became party president and in this role tried to broaden Labour’s appeal by abandoning policy unattractive to New Zealanders such as land nationalisation. This pragmatism often brought him into conflict with the new union leadership.

In 1993 Labour Leader Harry Holland died and Fraser contested the leadership losing to Savage. After Labour’s victory in 1935 Fraser became Minister of Health and Minister of Education.

Fraser became a key player in the feud between the party’s leadership and John A Lee. His influence with the large unions was a key factor and in 1939 he moved a motion censuring Lee, and the following year saw Lee expelled just prior to Savage’s death.

Fraser was elected Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister in April 1940, during WWII. Despite having gone to jail to oppose conscription in WWI, Fraser as PM introduced it for WWII. He also brought in general conscription of labour, press censorship, wage regulation and extended working hours. This attracted much opposition from within his own party and the labour movement.

On the international front Fraser gained much respect, especially at the 1945 conference which established the United Nations where he stood against the granting of veto rights to the five great powers. His party narrowly won the 1946 general election and Fraser took on the portfolio of Maori Affairs as well, an area of great interest for him.

Fraser’s authoritarian leadership alienated many of his own supporters and in 1948 and 1949 he was the strongest proponent of peacetime compulsory military training which was anaetha to many within his party. He won the referendum on compulsory military training but lost the election held shortly thereafter in December 1949. He died a year later on 12 December 1950.