Simon McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford

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The Right Honourable
The Lord McDonald of Salford
GCMG KCVO
File:Official portrait of Lord McDonald of Salford crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2021
Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Head of HM Diplomatic Service
In office
September 2015 – September 2020
Prime Minister David Cameron
Theresa May
Boris Johnson
Sec. of State Philip Hammond
Boris Johnson
Jeremy Hunt
Dominic Raab
Preceded by Sir Simon Fraser
Succeeded by Sir Philip Barton[lower-alpha 1]
British Ambassador to Germany
In office
2010–2015
Monarch Elizabeth II
President Christian Wulff
Joachim Gauck
Prime Minister David Cameron
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Preceded by Sir Michael Arthur
Succeeded by Sir Sebastian Wood
British Ambassador to Israel
In office
2003–2006
Monarch Elizabeth II
President Moshe Katzav
British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, Olmert
Preceded by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles
Succeeded by Sir Tom Phillips
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
11 February 2021
Life peerage
Personal details
Born (1961-03-09) 9 March 1961 (age 63)
Salford, England
Nationality British
Political party None (crossbencher)
Spouse(s) Olivia Wright
Children 4 (2 sons, 2 daughters)
Alma mater Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation Diplomat
Awards Coronet of a British Baron.svg Life peer

Simon Gerard McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford, GCMG, KCVO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (born 9 March 1961) is a British former diplomat who was the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service until September 2020. He was the last professional head of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office before the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He has been the Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, since September 2022.

In July 2022 McDonald wrote a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards stating that denials of previous allegations against Chris Pincher by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson were untrue.[1] The letter was described as an "extraordinary, devastating intervention", and was followed by resignations of senior cabinet ministers, ultimately leading to Johnson's announcement of his resignation on 7 July 2022.[2]

Early life and education

McDonald was born on 9 March 1961 in Salford, Lancashire.[3][4] He was educated at De La Salle College, a direct grant grammar school in Salford.[3] He then studied history at Pembroke College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree.[3][5]

Career

Diplomatic career

McDonald 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.[6][7]

File:Johnson and McDonald July 2016.jpg
McDonald welcomes the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on July 13, 2016.

In September 2015, McDonald became Permanent Under-Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, replacing Sir Simon Fraser.[8][9][10] 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.[11]

In April 2020, McDonald stated to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that it was a political decision to opt out of an EU scheme to bulk-buy ventilators and protective equipment for NHS workers to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The comments raised concerns that ministers had put Brexit ahead of responding to the public health crisis.[12] Following comments, Matt Hancock used Downing Street's daily press briefing to state that as far as he knew, there had been no political decision not to participate.[13] McDonald subsequently wrote to the committee chairperson, Tom Tugendhat, stating that he had "inadvertently and wrongly" misadvised the committee "due to a misunderstanding".[13]

In June 2020, it was announced that McDonald would take early retirement in autumn 2020. The move stemmed from the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Department for International Development, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalling that he wanted a new leader to head up the combined department.[14]

House of Lords

McDonald was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours.[15] On 27 January 2021, he was created Baron McDonald of Salford, of Pendleton in the City of Salford. He made his maiden speech on 2 March 2021.[5] He sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.[16]

Academic career

On 23 November 2021, McDonald was announced as Master-elect of Christ's College, Cambridge in succession to Jane Stapleton.[4] His term of office began on 1 September 2022.[4]

Chris Pincher scandal

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Main article: Chris Pincher scandal

Following the resignation of Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher over an incident of sexual groping, McDonald wrote in July 2022 to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on previous official complaints made against Pincher,[17] stating that the claim there had been no previous official complaints against Pincher was untrue.[18] A Guardian editorial described the letter as an "extraordinary, devastating intervention", which convinced Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, and many others to resign from Boris Johnson's government from 5 July 2022.[19][20]

Honours

McDonald was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2004 New Year Honours[21] 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.[22][23] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) during the Queen's state visit to Germany in June 2015.[24] He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to British foreign policy.[25]

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.[6]

Notelist

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References

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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Principal Private Secretary
to the Foreign Secretary
2001–2003		 Succeeded by
Sir Geoffrey Adams
British Ambassador to Israel
2003–2006		 Succeeded by
Sir Tom Phillips
Preceded by British Ambassador to Germany
2010–2015		 Succeeded by
Sir Sebastian Wood
Government offices
Preceded by Permanent Under-Secretary at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2015–2020		 Succeeded by
Sir Philip Barton
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Christ's College, University of Cambridge
2022–present		 Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron McDonald of Salford		 Followed by
The Lord Cruddas

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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 McDONALD, Simon Gerard, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press Dec 2013
  7. ↑ Simon McDonald CMG, British Ambassador to Germany, gov.uk
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 32 names as of 16:30 6 July 2022. New names added as available.
  21. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57155. p. . 31 December 2003.
  22. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60895. p. . 14 June 2014.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 2360003. p. . 30 June 2015.
  25. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 63377. p. . 12 June 2021.
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