Editing Janette Howard (section)

==Early life, education, and personal life==
[[File:201000 - Cycling track Australian PM John Howard Janette Howard - 3b - 2000 Sydney spectator photo.jpg|right|thumb|Janette Howard with her husband John Howard in the Australian Team uniform during the [[2000 Summer Paralympics]]. The Howards attended several days of competition during the Games.{{cn|date=April 2023}}]]
Alison Janette Parker<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-boy-who-would-be-pm-20070721-ge5ehc.html |title=The boy who would be PM |work=[[The Age]]|date=21 July 2007 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610035109/https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-boy-who-would-be-pm-20070721-ge5ehc.html |archivedate=10 June 2021}}</ref> was born in the suburb of [[Kingsford, New South Wales|Kingsford]], Sydney, in 1944. Her father was an engineer with the [[New South Wales Government Railways]]. The family later moved to [[Vaucluse, New South Wales|Vaucluse]]. She was educated at [[Sydney Girls High School]] and trained as a teacher, graduating from the [[University of New South Wales]] with a Bachelor of Arts.<ref name=unsw>{{cite press release |author=Offner, Steve |url=https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/general/unsw-honours-former-pm-john-howard |title=UNSW honours former PM John Howard |publisher=[[University of New South Wales]] |date=21 June 2013 |access-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627230344/http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/general/unsw-honours-former-pm-john-howard |archivedate=27 June 2013}}</ref>

She joined the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] and met [[John Howard]] at a Liberal Party function. They were married on 4 April 1971, at St Peter's Anglican Church in [[Watsons Bay]].

The Howards have three children, Melanie (born 1974, married Rowan McDonald in 2003), Timothy<ref name=unsw/> (married Sarah Mackintosh in 2010) and Richard (married Ellen Dadanina in 2017);<ref name=unsw/> as well as five grandchildren, Angus (born 2007), Alexander (born 2012), and Ariah (born 2015), Winston (born 2018) and Henry (born 2020).{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Janette Howard adopted a relatively low profile during her husband's tenure as prime minister; however, in 1999, a journalist alleged that she had intervened with the Prime Minister concerning an appointment to the board of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. Janette issued a rare public statement denying the allegation as "not only wrong but deeply offensive to me".<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-11306 |author=Howard, Janette |title=Statement by Mrs Janette Howard |publisher=Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet |date=8 August 1999 |access-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516004337/https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-11306 |archivedate=16 May 2018}}</ref>

In 1996, Janette Howard was diagnosed with [[cervical cancer]] and underwent surgery; the type of cancer was not revealed to the public until 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20588767-2,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904040834/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20588767-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2012 |title=Janette Howard reveals cancer details |agency=Australian Associated Press|work=[[News.com.au]]|date=16 October 2006 |accessdate=18 February 2012 }}</ref> John Howard said at the time that he would leave politics immediately if it seemed necessary in the interests of his wife's health. Since then, Janette has been active in advocating early screening for breast cancer for Australian women.<ref>[http://www.nbcc.org.au/media/janetteh.html Mrs Janette Howard sends message to Australian Women – NBCC<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050926041820/http://www.nbcc.org.au/media/janetteh.html |date=26 September 2005 }}</ref>

Janette Howard's public duties included accompanying the Prime Minister on official tours and carrying out the duties of official host at the Prime Minister's official residences, [[The Lodge (Australia)|The Lodge]] in Canberra and [[Kirribilli House]] in Sydney. She is also a patron of the [[National Portrait Gallery (Australia)|National Portrait Gallery]].