William Milligan Fraser, 1st Baron Strathalmond (3 November 1888 – 1 April 1970) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

oilman. Fraser served from 1941 to 1954 as the fourth and final chairman of the

Anglo-Iranian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

, and from 1954 to 1956 as the first chairman of

British Petroleum BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas " supermajors" and one of ...

Biography

Fraser was the second son of William Fraser, of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the founder of the Pumpherston Oil Company, and his wife Janet Loch. He joined his father's firm in 1909 and became a director in 1913 and joint managing director in 1915. He was appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1918 for his work in increasing oil supply during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Fraser joined the board of the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

in 1923. He became deputy chairman (to John Cadman) in 1928, and played a great role in expanding the oil production in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, becoming known as a leading expert on

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

oil. In 1941 he succeeded Cadman as chairman, a post he retained until 1956 (the firm was renamed the

British Petroleum Company BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in London, England. It is ...

in 1954). Fraser was also an adviser on oil affairs to the British government for many years, notably as petroleum adviser to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

and as chairman of the Oil Advisory Committee.

Honours

After being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918, Fraser was knighted in 1939 and in 1955 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Strathalmond, of Pumpherston in the County of Midlothian.

Marriage & Children

Lord Strathalmond married Mary Roberton McLintock (born 11 April 1892, died 17 October 1963), daughter of Thomas McLintock, in 1913. They had one son and one daughter: *

William Fraser, 2nd Baron Strathalmond William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

(born 8 May 1916, died 27 October 1976) *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...

Mary Joan Fraser (born 29 Oct 1922, died 6 March 2004) Lord Strathalmond died in April 1970, aged 81. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, William. He is buried at

Putney Vale Cemetery Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 193 ...

in South West London.

Arms

References

*William, E. T., Nicholls, C. S (editors). ''The Dictionary of National Biography, 1961-1970''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, {{DEFAULTSORT:Strathalmond, William Fraser, 1st Baron 1888 births 1970 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow Nobility from Glasgow Anglo-Persian Oil Company Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery British businesspeople in the oil industry Scottish chairpersons of corporations Chairmen of BP Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II