JOHN MALCOLM FRASER

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05109968
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 26, 2021
• Case Number: F-2020-01826
• Publication Date: July 17, 1981

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(John) Malcolm FRASER
Prime Minister (since
December 1975)
Addressed as:
Mr. Prime Minister
Leader of the
Liberal Party (LP) since
March 1975, Malcolm
Fraser stands well to the
right of most members of
his basically conserva-
tive party and is deter-
mined to move Australian
politics in that direc-
tion. He has taken
direct personal control
of his government in an
effort to cut spending, give more powers to state
governments, and giverthe_average man greater "eco-
nomic independence."
AUSTRALIA
Foreign Policy
The dominant voice in Australian foreign
policy, Fraser has faced fundamental policy issues
squarely. He has strongly endorsed the US-
Australian alliance, has expressed the hope that
"good working relations" with China will continue,
and has demanded that the Soviet Union prove its
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CR M 81-13273
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commitment to world peace by refraining from mili-
tary expansion. Fraser has a strong bias against
the USSR and is concerned that Western nations are
being duped by the Soviets in disarmament talks. He
also has strong doubts about the determination of
the West to resist what he regards as the constant
and unchanging Soviet effort to dominate Western
Europe. In January 1980 Fraser's government strong-
ly supported President Jimmy Carter's position not
to send an Olympic team to Moscow unless Soviet
troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan by mid-
February 1980. Simultaneously, Australia agreed to
curtail grain shipments and to sharply limit the
export of scientific and technological equipment to
the Soviet Union. Fraser has visited the United
States, most recently in June 1981.
Personal Data
Born in Melbourne, Fraser is the son of a
wealthy grazier (cattle farmer). He holds a mas-
ter's degree in philosophy, political science and
economics from Magdalen College, Oxford. In earlier
conservative governments he served as Minister for
the Army (1966-68), for Education and Science(1968-
69, 1971-72), and for Defense (1969-71).
Fraser, 51, is a wealthy man who has a house in
one of Canberra's fashionable districts, as well as
an estate in Victoria, where he raises cattle and
sheep. He enjoys fishing and photography, but he
can be roused to real enthusiasm when talking about
his motorcycle. Fraser married Tamara Beggs in
1956- the couple has two sons and two daughters.
17 July 1981
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Approved for Release: 2021/08/25 C05109968