Simon McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford
Sir Simon McDonald | |
|---|---|
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| Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, & Head of the Diplomatic Service | |
| Assumed office September 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
| Minister | Philip Hammond Boris Johnson Jeremy Hunt |
| Preceded by | Sir Simon Fraser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 March 1961 Salford, England |
| Spouse | Olivia Wright |
| Children | 4 (2 sons, 2 daughters) |
| Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Sir Simon Gerard McDonald KCMG KCVO (born 9 March 1961) is a British diplomat who is Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service.
Career
McDonald was educated at De La Salle College, Salford, and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1982 and served in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn and Washington, D.C. as well as in London. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary 2001–03; Ambassador to Israel 2003–06; Director for Iraq at the FCO 2006–07; Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Overseas and Defence Secretariat at the Cabinet Office 2007–10; and was appointed Ambassador to Germany in October 2010[update].[1][2]
In September 2015, McDonald became Permanent Under-Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, replacing Sir Simon Fraser.[3][4][5] As of 2015, McDonald was paid a salary of between £180,000 and £184,999 by the Foreign Office, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[6]
Honours
McDonald was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2004 New Year Honours[7] and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to British foreign policy and British interests in Germany.[8][9] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) during the Queen's state visit to Germany in June 2015.[10]
Family
In 1989 Simon McDonald married Olivia, daughter of Sir Patrick Wright, later Baron Wright of Richmond, who had also been Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO (1986–1991). Simon and Olivia have two sons and two daughters.[1]
References
- ^ a b McDONALD, Simon Gerard, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press Dec 2013
- ^ Simon McDonald CMG, British Ambassador to Germany, gov.uk
- ^ "Appointment of new Permanent Under Secretary to the FCO". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 29 July 2015.
- ^ Fraser, Simon (29 July 2015). "Simon Fraser on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
Many congrats to @SMcDonaldFCO on his appointment as my successor @foreignoffice. Great choice.
- ^ Parker, George (31 July 2015). "Top Foreign Office mandarin cautions on hollowing out UK diplomacy". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b4.
- ^ "Birthday Honours lists 2014". gov.uk. Honours. HM Government. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ "No. 2360003". The London Gazette. 30 June 2015. p. 2742.
- 1961 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
- Members of HM Diplomatic Service
- Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Israel
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany
- Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
- Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order