Martin Fraser this week became Ireland’s most senior civil servant – but who is he and how did he end up in one of the most powerful positions in the country?
ONE OF MARTIN Fraser’s big interests is genealogy. His personal project in recent years has been researching his family tree.
He could have started with the most mysterious figure in the entire Fraser clan: himself.
Earlier this week, Martin Fraser became the most senior civil servant in the State, holding one of the most powerful positions in the land: secretary general to the Government and to the Department of the Taoiseach.
But outside the tight circle of those who work at, or near, the heart of Government, he is unknown. During a 25-year career in the civil service, he has been mentioned in newspaper articles on only five occasions.
The secretary general to the Government and to the Department of the Taoiseach attends all Government meetings; manages the complex apparatus of Government; oversees background work on a range of policy issues and legislation; and delivers advice to the Taoiseach and Government. In the Taoiseach’s own department, there are a couple of key policy functions, including economic policy and Northern Ireland.
Those who know him say there are few in the civil service who can do the job better than Fraser. He is bright, organised, efficient and energetic. He is a straight talker. He is a good networker and popular with colleagues. He has lots of cop-on, knows the needs of the politician and, by extension, the media. He is not afraid to proffer his own opinion but is mindful of his role: to advise, not to prescribe.
One former senior colleague says: “He’s very well liked because he is very ordinary . . . When you get to that level everybody accepts that you are intelligent. What gets you support is how you deal with people and how you bring them around to your view.”
“He is very much a backgrounder, does not propel himself forward,” says another former colleague.
At the event to mark the retirement of his predecessor, Dermot McCarthy, Fraser gave the speech. He admitted afterwards that he was nervous as it was the first speech he had delivered that had not gone to McCarthy for approval.
But there is a lot of the unexpected about him. He is only 41, and looks younger. Since his late 20s, he has been marked out as one to watch. He joined the service at 16 and has worked his way up from the bottom. That has made him popular with colleagues.
A former colleague describes Fraser’s rise: “He has had a very simple strategy. He has achieved it by playing it very straight with the guy who’s here now, not pandering to people, not putting anybody down.”
Fraser still has a strong Dublin accent, can be a little dishevelled in appearance, and supports the Dubs from Hill 16. “He is not a ‘corporate box’ kind of guy,” says a friend.
His fanaticism extends to soccer (he was in Stuttgart for the famous Irish victory over England in 1988) and golf (he never misses the British Open). And he is definitely the first top civil servant from the iPod generation.
He has gone to Electric Picnic; he is a Bruce Springsteen fan and has seen him play live in eight countries; he also likes Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
Fraser is from Malahide, where he still lives with his wife and two daughters. His first job was in a labour exchange during the recession of the 1980s. He studied at night and has a first-class honours BComm and an MSC in economics from TCD.
During his early career, he was an IT specialist. He transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1996, where he dealt with the Middle East.
A stint in Agriculture presaged his move to the Taoiseach’s department 12 years ago as finance officer.
As assistant secretary for five years, he has had a wide-ranging brief covering Northern Ireland, corporate affairs and international affairs.
Timing was key. He took over as Northern Ireland director after the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Robert McCartney.
“He has a good political mind. Northern Ireland was wholly political. He had that sort of approach you need in trying to find compromise,” says one colleague.
There was a bit of fortuitous timing, too, with the new Taoiseach. A week after Enda Kenny became Taoiseach, he was in the White House listening to Barack Obama announce his Irish trip. Fraser was there too and was put in charge of the visit and that of the Queen. It has meant a lot of “face time” with Kenny, who could judge Fraser’s credentials from close quarters.
How will he differ from McCarthy, a dominant figure who was there for a decade? McCarthy played his cards close to his chest and was cautious by nature. He was also associated with the social partnership process for more than a decade.
“Martin won’t have that baggage. Social partnership is gone. And in terms of style, it’s expected he may be less hands-on,” says one source.
“McCarthy had a large desk covered with mountains of papers. There was hardly a square inch of space. He was somebody who insisted that everything went through his hands. I think Martin will be less like that.”
