Simon McDonald

Simon Gerard McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford, (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 Prime Minister Boris Johnson were untrue. 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.

Early life and education McDonald was born on 9 March 1961 in Salford, Lancashire. He was educated at De La Salle College, a direct grant grammar school in Salford. He thereafter gained a Master of Arts degree. McDonald welcomes the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on 13 July 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. As of 2015, McDonald was paid a salary between £180,000 and £184,999 by the Foreign Office.

Speaking in 2021, after leaving the FCDO, McDonald recalled telling his private secretary on the morning of the referendum in 2016, "I really fear today our country is going to vote to leave the European Union". He also revealed his office to be in "mourning" after the vote but stressed the importance of abiding by civil service impartiality in implementing the referendum result.

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. 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. McDonald subsequently wrote to the committee chairman, Tom Tugendhat MP, stating that he had "inadvertently and wrongly" misinformed the committee "due to a misunderstanding".

House of Lords McDonald was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours. 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. He sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.

Academic career On 23 November 2021, McDonald was announced as Master-elect of Christ's College, Cambridge in succession to Jane Stapleton.

Chris Pincher

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, stating that the claim there had been no previous official complaints against Pincher was untrue. 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.

Aid spending In 2025, Lord McDonald warned Rachel Reeves not to cut Britain’s international aid spending. Lord McDonald said it would damage Britain’s global reputation if Reeves chose to reduce aid as she looked for savings in the government's spending review.

Antonia Romeo Following the resignation of Chris Wormald as Cabinet Secretary in February 2026, Lord McDonald stated if Antonia Romeo is the leading candidate then ‘due diligence has some way still to go’. He told Channel 4 News: “The due diligence needs to be thorough. If the candidate mentioned in the media is the one, in my view, the due diligence has some way still to go.”.

Honours McDonald was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2004 New Year Honours 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. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) during the Queen's state visit to Germany in June 2015. 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.

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.