Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser, 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 in 1982.
Peter 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.
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 1996 he became Minister for Energy.
He is a non-executive director of Total Holdings UK, a director of the International Petroleum Exchange and a director of the London Metal Exchange. He is also chairman of JKX Oil and Gas plc and a director of Alkane Energy. He is a director of Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel and one of the founders of the public affairs company Holyrood Strategy Scotland. He was Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords until December 1998.
In December 2000, Lord Fraser was elected Honorary President of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and remained in office until June 2005 when he was elected one of only two Companions of the Chartered Institute.
He is chairman of the Anglo-Azeri Society and co-Chairman of the All Party Kazakhstan Group.
He has been an Honorary Visiting Professor of Law at Dundee University and is an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, London.
He was recently re-appointed independent Chairman of the Statutory Committee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
