William Fraser, 1st Baron Strathalmond

Fraser was the second son of William Fraser, of Glasgow, 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 (CBE) in 1918 for his work in increasing oil supply during the First World War.^[1] Fraser joined the board of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1923. He became deputy chairman (to John Cadman) in 1928, and played a great role in expanding the oil production in Iran, Iraq and Kuwait, becoming known as a leading expert on Middle East oil. In 1941 he succeeded Cadman as chairman, a post he retained until 1956 (the firm was renamed the British Petroleum Company 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 and as chairman of the Oil Advisory Committee.^[2]

During his tenure as chairman of the AIOC following the Second World War, Fraser's management of the Iranian concession became highly consequential. By 1950, neighboring oil agreements, such as the arrangement between the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) and Saudi Arabia, had shifted to a 50/50 profit-sharing model. Fraser, however, steadfastly refused Iranian demands to renegotiate the AIOC's terms to match this emerging market standard.^[3] Despite explicit warnings from the United States Department of State—notably from Assistant Secretary of State George C. McGhee, who traveled to London to personally urge Fraser to compromise to avoid radicalizing Iranian politics—Fraser maintained a rigid negotiating posture.^[4] Historians widely cite Fraser's intransigence as a primary catalyst for the Iranian parliament's decision to pass the 1951 oil nationalization law under Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.^[5] The resulting Abadan Crisis severely damaged the Iranian economy and ultimately set the geopolitical conditions for the 1953 Iranian coup d'état.

After being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918, Fraser was knighted in 1939^[6] and in 1955 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Strathalmond, of Pumpherston in the County of Midlothian.^[7]