Chair, Charity Commission

Orlando Fraser KC

Biography

Orlando Fraser has been a commercial barrister for nearly 30 years, practising at 4 Stone Buildings. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014.

Previously he served on the board of the Charity Commission from 2013 to 2017, where he acted as one of two statutory legal members and chaired the Governance & Remuneration Committee as well as the Policy & Guidance Committee. Orlando has also served on the Civil Justice Council and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ Advisory Council.

Orlando’s involvement in the voluntary sector stretches back to 1992, when he took an aid convoy to Bosnia to help its Muslim population. Since then he has served on the Management Committee of a West London refuge for women victims of domestic abuse, served as a Governor of Ilfracombe College, edited the voluntary sector sections of Centre of Social Justice’s “Breakdown Britain” and “Breakthrough Britain” reports, and supported the Rugby Portobello Trust charity through the 2017 Grenfell tragedy. Apart from the Rugby Portobello Trust, Orlando supports a number of other charities.

Chair, Charity Commission

The Chair is responsible for effectively and accurately representing the views of the Charity Commission Board in:

  • directing the commission’s strategic development, policies and plans
  • communicating the commission’s plans and achievements to charities and their users, commission staff, the government and the public
  • developing the commission’s relationships with government, sector bodies and other major stakeholders

The Chair leads the board in making sure the Charity Commission:

  • carries out its statutory duties and responsibilities and exercises its legal powers appropriately
  • carries out the board’s plans for the future, including its contribution to legislative reform
  • carries out its services in line with agreed targets

The Charity Commission

Previous roles in government

  • Board member