Rowland Cardwell Frazee, (May 12, 1921 – July 29, 2007) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

banker and former chairman and chief executive officer of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...

from 1979 to 1986.

Biography

Born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, at age five, the family moved to

St. Stephen, New Brunswick St. Stephen (2016 population: 4,415) is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River around the intersection of New Brunswick Route 170 and the southern terminus of New Brunswick Route ...

where his father had been appointed bank manager. At age eighteen, Rowland Frazee went to work as a clerk at his father's branch but following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

in 1941 serving overseas with

The Carleton and York Regiment The Carleton and York Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1954, the regiment was amalgamated with The New Brunswick Scottish and The North Shore (New Brunswick) ...

, First Canadian Infantry Division, with whom he participated in the July 1943

allied landings in Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

. Wounded on three occasions, Frazee distinguished himself in the Italian campaign and in northwest Europe. At the time of his decommissioning in 1945 he held the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. After the war, Frazee studied at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in Halifax, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree in 1948. Resuming his banking career, he rose to become the Royal Bank's president in 1977 and assumed the role of chairman and chief executive officer in 1980. He retired from the bank on May 31, 1986, but remained a member of the board of directors until 1992. In 1985, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and was promoted to Companion in 1991. In 2001, he was inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame. His son, Stephen Frazee, is a successful Toronto real estate broker and his daughter,

Catherine Frazee Catherine Frazee is a Canadians, Canadian educator, activist, researcher, poet and writer. She is currently professor emerita in the School of Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). Prior to her retire ...

, a former chair of the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

, is a retired Professor of Distinction at the

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

School of Disability Studies.

References

External links

* 1921 births 2007 deaths Canadian Anglicans Royal Bank of Canada presidents Directors of Royal Bank of Canada Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian Army officers Canadian people of Scottish descent Companions of the Order of Canada Dalhousie University alumni People from Halifax, Nova Scotia People from St. Stephen, New Brunswick Carleton and York Regiment Royal New Brunswick Regiment {{canada-business-bio-stub