James McIntosh Fraser was an Australian trade unionist and politician.

Fraser was born in Forres

Forres

Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...

, Morayshire, Scotland and educated locally. He emigrated to Australia and married Ellen Simmons in April 1912 in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. He was turned down for military service during World War I and instead returned to a position at the Royal Arsenal

Royal Arsenal

The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...

 in London, where he had worked before emigrating. After the war he returned to Perth as a motorman with the Western Australian Government Tramways

Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways was most common name of the Western Australian government rail transport authority from 1890 to 1976. It is, in its current form, known as the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia....

 and he became an officer of the Tramway Employees' Union.

Political career

Fraser became a member of the State executive of the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 in the 1920s and he was a member of Perth City Council

City of Perth

The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...

 from 1929 to 1937. He was elected to the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 in the 1937 election

Australian federal election, 1937

Federal elections were held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

. He was appointed Minister for External Territories

Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...

 in the Curtin ministry

First Curtin Ministry

The First Curtin Ministry was the thirtieth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 7 October 1941 to 21 September 1943.Australian Labor Party...

 in October 1941. In September 1943

Second Curtin Ministry

The Second Curtin Ministry was the thirty-first Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 21 September 1943 to 6 July 1945.Australian Labor Party*Rt Hon John Curtin, MP: Prime Minister, Minister for Defence...

, he became Minister for Health

Minister for Health and Ageing (Australia)

The Minister for Health and Ageing is a portfolio in the Government of Australia with the responsibility for national health policy. The current Minister for Health and Ageing is Nicola Roxon...

 and Minister for Social Services

Minister for Human Services (Australia)

The position of Minister for Human Services within Australian politics is currently held by the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP. The Minister is responsible for a number of welfare agencies and administers her portfolio through the Department of Human Services and its component bodies:* Child Support...

 and was responsible for implementing the Labor government's ambitions to expand social security programs. During World War II, his three sons served in the Second Australian Imperial Force

Second Australian Imperial Force

The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...

, one was captured by the Japanese in the Battle of Singapore

Battle of Singapore

The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...

 and another died as a prisoner of war in Germany. In June 1946, he became Minister for Trade and Customs

Minister for Trade (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...

 (losing the Social Services portfolio) on the death of Richard Keane

Richard Keane

Richard Valentine Keane was an Australian politician.Keane was born in Beechworth, Victoria and, after his police constable father was transferred to Melbourne, was educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda. When he was 16 he took a position as a clerk in the Victorian Railways...

, but was not re-elected to the ministry in November 1946. As a backbencher, he became a forceful critic of Labor leader, H. V. Evatt

H. V. Evatt

Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

, whom he regarded as unelectable, and seconded a motion to declare the party's leadership positions vacant in October 1954. He retired from parliament in 1959.

Fraser died in the Perth suburb of Victoria Park

Victoria Park, Western Australia

The Town of Victoria Park is a Local Government Area of Western Australia.  It covers an area of 17.62 km² in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia.  The Town of Victoria Park maintains 154.55 km of roads, a little over 1 km² of parks and gardens and has a...

, survived by his wife, two sons and one of his two daughters.