Anna Dora Gaitskell, Baroness Gaitskell (''née'' Creditor; formerly Frost; 25 April 1901 – 1 July 1989) was a

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

politician and the wife of

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...

, who led the Labour Party in 1955–1963.

Early life

She was born Anna Dora Creditor near

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, then part of Russia, the eldest of four sisters and a brother. Her father, Leon Creditor was a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

scholar and writer. They emigrated to Britain in 1903 or soon after, arriving in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, London. She was educated at Coborn High School for Girls in Bow, east London.William Rodgers: ''Gaitskell , (Anna) Dora, Baroness Gaitskell (1901–1989)'' rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 17 March 2013
/ref> She abandoned a career in medicine to marry Isaac Frost, a lecturer in physiology, on 15 March 1921. They had a son, Raymond, in 1925, but divorced in 1937.

Political career

She had joined the Labour Party at the age of 16. She met Hugh Gaitskell in

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia ( ) is a district of central London, England, near the West End. Its eastern part is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urbanised in ...

, London. Gaitskell had taken a teaching post at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. They married at

Hampstead Town Hall Hampstead Town hall is a municipal building on Haverstock Hill, Hampstead, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The facility was commissioned by the Vestry of St John who had previously met in the offices of the local workhouse. A ...

on 9 April 1937. They had two daughters Julia, 1939, and Cressida, 1942. She was a delegate at the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

and member of the All Party Committee for Human Rights from 1977 to 1989. She was also Trustee of the Anglo-German Federation. She remained loyal to the Labour Party when most of her husband's supporters left to form the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

in 1981. On 23 January 1964, she was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baroness Gaitskell, of Egremont in the County of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. Two years later she received an honorary degree as

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She outlived Hugh Gaitskell by 26 years after his death in January 1963, living until July 1989 and the age of 88. She died at the Gaitskell home, 18 Frognal Gardens,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

References

1901 births 1989 deaths Latvian Jews Jewish British politicians Labour Party (UK) life peers Place of birth missing Place of death missing Hugh Gaitskell Latvian emigrants to the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom People from Stepney Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub