Peter Fraser

Peter Fraser (Lord Fraser of Carmyllie QC) was a Scottish politician and a former Solicitor General for Scotland (1982-89) and Lord Advocate. He died in June 2013.

Background

Fraser was educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh and graduated BA (Hons) and LLM (Hons), Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, before going to Edinburgh University. He was called to the Scottish Bar in 1969 and in 1972 he lectured part-time in constitutional law at Heriot-Watt University for 2 years. In 1979 he was appointed Standing Junior Counsel for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1982.

Political career

Fraser was elected as a Conservative MP for Angus in 1979, where he remained in the House of Commons until June 1987. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to George Younger, Secretary of State for Scotland.

In 1982 he was appointed Solicitor-General for Scotland by Margaret Thatcher and became Lord Advocate in 1989, when he was made a life peer and a member of the Privy Council. During his time as Lord Advocate, he had ultimate responsibility for the Pan Am 103 Lockerbie investigation. He has appeared for the United Kingdom in both the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Fraser's own website gives the following account:

From 1992 to 1995 he was Minister of State at the Scottish Office covering Home Affairs and Health. He was then Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry with a responsibility for export promotion and overseas investment with particular emphasis on the oil and gas industry. In 1995 he became Minister for Energy.

In June 2003 he was invited by the First Minister of the Scottish Executive to head an Inquiry into the cost over-run of the new Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Breaking new ground all the proceedings were allowed to be televised and all documentation before the Inquiry (except for limited security matters) was published on the Inquiry website. The Report was delivered in September 2004 within time and under budget.

In 2007 he was appointed a member of the Broadcasting Commission by Alex Salmond.

Business interests and affiliations

Fraser was a non-executive director of Total Holdings UK and Total Exploration UK Ltd, a director of the International Petroleum Exchange and a director of the London Metal Exchange. He was also chairman of JKX Oil and Gas plc and a director of Alkane Energy, as well as director of Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel and a co-founder of the public affairs company Holyrood Strategy Scotland.

• Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords until December 1998.

• Fraser was elected Honorary President of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in December 2000 and remained in office until June 2005 when he was elected one of only two Companions of the Chartered Institute.

• Chairman of the Anglo-Azeri Society
• Co-Chairman of the All Party Kazakhstan Group

• Independent Chairman of the Statutory Committee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

• Honorary Visiting Professor of Law at Dundee University
• Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, London.

Other affiliations

• Holyrood Strategy (Scotland) Ltd http://www.holyroodnews.com
• Ram Energy Ltd http://www.ram-energy.com
• Directstore Solutions Ltd.
• Partner in FraserForrest LLP- International Energy Consultants