Rose Rosenberg
Rose Rosenberg (1892-1966) served as secretary to Ramsay MacDonald during his two periods as British Prime Minister (1924 and 1929-1935) and during his time in opposition. Having been born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Spitalfields, she established herself in the business world and then in the Labour party. MacDonald gave her hitherto unprecedented access, for secretarial staff, to his office and to confidential documents. Rosenberg was the conduit between the Prime Minister and the parliamentary Labour party, and worked with MacDonald’s daughter, Ishbel, to protect him from overwork. MacDonald’s archive is stamped with her authority. Files relating to international conferences were organised by her, she mediated MacDonald’s weekly confidential meetings overseeing Round Table Conference work, much correspondence was addressed to her directly, while should would request from the India Office information on words or festivals mentioned in correspondence with the Prime Minister about which she was unsure.
In this article Rosenberg’s humble beginnings in the slums of east London was contrasted to her ascent to serving the nerve centre of ‘the greatest empire modern civilisation has ever known.’ At barely 30 years old, she had become the confidante, and ‘super-private secretary’ to the Premier. She had proven that women could keep secrets (!), enjoy dancing (remaining ‘graceful, petite, vivacious, alert and attractive’) and play the piano to the highest standard.
This article ambiguously plays upon Rosenberg’s Jewish heritage. Her tenacity and success is admired, as is her ability to maintain an interest in food, music and dancing despite her heavy workload. However, the article opens by suggesting that her Jewish origin is apparent in her name and her body (a petite brunette who “conveys the impression of being swarthy”).