Angus McKay Fraser (10 March 1928 – 27 May 2001) was a senior British

Civil Servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

politician and cabinet minister from 1979 until 1992, and a lifelong scholar of Gypsies, and of the author

George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...

Early life

He was born at Dumfries, the son of a prison officer. He grew up in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, attending

Falkirk High School Falkirk High School is a high school located in Falkirk, Stirlingshire that was founded in 1886. It is a non-denominational six-year fully comprehensive school, situated approximately one mile from the centre of the town. It serves a widespre ...

where his interest in the life and writings of George Borrow was first kindled. After school he studied modern languages at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. After graduating he did

Military Service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) requ ...

in 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 ...

. He continued his association with the military as a member of the Territorial Army, receiving the

Territorial Efficiency Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1966, at which time he held the rank of Major.

Career

Fraser joined the Customs and Excise in 1952. His career tended to alternate between central Whitehall departments ( Civil Service Department, The Treasury) and his own department. He rose to become Deputy Chairman of the Customs and Excise in 1978, followed by a

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

position in the Civil Service Department (one of only 3 not

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to d ...

educated at the time), and finally Chairman of the Customs and Excise. Shortly after retiring from the Customs and Excise Fraser was appointed Efficiency Advisor in the Cabinet Office in 1988, apparently after

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

asked about 'the man from Customs'. He remained in post after Margaret Thatcher was succeeded by

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

, finally retiring in 1992. Unmarked family grave of Angus Fraser in Highgate Cemetery

Later years

On his retirement from the Cabinet Office, Fraser largely devoted himself to his long-standing scholarly interests. Shortly after Fraser retired he published ''The Gypsies'', a succinct account based on decades of study. Short before leaving office he had founded the George Borrow Society. He remained President of the society until his death. He also found time to advise politicians inexperienced in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, Administration (government), administration of Government, government establishment (Governance#P ...

, varying from the leaders of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, to the British Labour Party of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

. He is buried in an unmarked family grave (plot no.52026 behind Pawlak) on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

, set back from the main path opposite the grave of

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...

Honours

* Commander of the Order of the Bath, 1981 *

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

, 1985

References

External links

The George Borrow Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Angus 1928 births 2001 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Alumni of the University of Glasgow Royal Artillery officers English civil servants English writers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath