Malcolm Fraser

John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC (21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician. He served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia from 11 November 1975 through 11 November 1983. He was also leader of the Liberal Party from 1975 to 1983.

The Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser
22nd Prime Minister of Australia
In office 11 November 1975 – 11 March 1983
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Bob Hawke
Personal details
Born	(1930-05-21)21 May 1930 Toorak, Victoria
Died	20 March 2015(2015-03-20) (aged 84) Melbourne, Victoria
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia (1954–2009)
Spouse(s)	Tamie Fraser (m. 1956–2015, his death)
Children	4
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford

Before being prime minister, Fraser was a member of the Australian Parliament from 1955 through 1983. He served as Minister of Defence from 1966 to 1968 and again from 1969 to 1971 and Minister for Education and Science from 1968 to 1969 and again from 1971 to 1972.

Early life

Fraser was born in Toorak, Victoria. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford. He married Tamie Beggs in 1956.

Prime Minister (1975-1983)

As leader of the Liberal Party, he became Prime Minister in November, 1975 when Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Gough Whitlam. At this point he was only temporary Prime Minister. He won the election held in December, 1975. He won two more elections in 1977 and 1980 before losing to Bob Hawke in 1983. Fraser married Tamara (Tamie) Beggs in 1956 and the couple have remained married ever since.

His government stopped some of the changes made by the Whitlam government. They also reduced government spending to stop money becoming less valuable. He also supported efforts to abolish racism in South Africa, the boycott of the Moscow Olympics and more immigration from Asian countries.

He has criticised the prime ministership of John Howard who had been his Treasurer from 1977 to 1983.

Death

On 20 March 2015, his office announced that Fraser had died in the early hours of the morning, noting that he had suffered a brief illness in Melbourne, Victoria, aged 84.

More reading

• Ayres, Philip (1987), Malcolm Fraser, a Biography, Heinemann, Richmond, Victoria. ISBN 0-85561-060-3
• Kelly, Paul (2000), Malcolm Fraser, in Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales. ISBN 1-86436-756-3
• Kerr, John (1978), Matters for Judgment. An Autobiography, Macmillan, South Melbourne, Victoria. ISBN 0-333-25212-8
• Lopez, Mark (2000),The Origins of Multiculturalism in Australian Politics 1945–1975, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Victoria. ISBN 0-522-84895-8

Other websites

• Malcolm Fraser Archived 2010-03-24 at the Wayback Machine– Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia
• Australian Biography– Malcolm Fraser Archived 2007-02-16 at the Wayback Machine An extensive 1994 interview with Fraser
• Malcolm Fraser on Twitter
• The Malcolm Fraser Collection at the University of Melbourne Archives
• Malcolm Fraser at the National Film and Sound Archive Archived 2016-02-05 at the Wayback Machine