Richard Michael Fraser, Baron Fraser of Kilmorack,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(28 October 1915 – 1 July 1996) was a British Conservative Party political administrator. The Conservative historian Lord Blake wrote that Fraser "will go down to history as a figure comparable only to Gorst under

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

or the famous Captain Middleton under

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Life

Fraser was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, the son of Dr Thomas Fraser CBE DSO TD DL, and of Maria-Theresia Kayser, from

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. He was educated at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he took a degree in History. During World War II, he served with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Military Division) in 1945. After the war, Fraser joined the

Conservative Research Department The Conservative Research Department (CRD) is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster. The CRD has been descr ...

(CRD), serving as its Director between 1959 and 1964 and its Chairman between 1970 and 1974. He was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party between 1964 and 1975; he was described as a "linchpin" between the variously wings of the Conservative Party while he was its Deputy Chairman. At the CRD, he turned down job applications from

Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...

and Donald Maclean, on the grounds that they were "Communist agents"; both men were later unmasked as Soviet agents. In 1970, Fraser was considered for the position of Cabinet Secretary; he refused, saying "I serve the party, not some bloody state". Fraser was appointed a

Commander of the Order of British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1955 for political services and was knighted in 1962. He was made a life peer in the February 1974 Dissolution Honours List as Baron Fraser of Kilmorack, of Rubislaw in the County of the City of Aberdeen. Fraser married Chloe Drummond in 1944; they had two sons. He died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1996. His papers are held at the Hoover Institution Library and Archives at Stanford University.

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Michael 1915 births 1996 deaths Conservative Party (UK) life peers Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Fettes College Royal Artillery officers People from Aberdeen Conservative Party (UK) officials Politicians from Aberdeen British Army personnel of World War II Life peers created by Elizabeth II