Simon Fraser (diplomat)

Fraser speaking at Chatham House, September 2015

Sir Simon James Fraser, GCMG (born 3 June 1958)[1] is a British former diplomat who served as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from August 2010 to July 2015,[2] having served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from May 2009 to August 2010.

Early life

Fraser was educated at St Paul's School, London and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where he gained an M.A.

Diplomatic career

Before going to the Business Department, Fraser's career had centred on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He joined the Office in 1979 and served in Iraq, Syria, Paris and Brussels. Having been seconded to the European Commission he worked as Chef du Cabinet for Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in September 2004, he returned to the FCO in February 2008, where he took up the role of Director-General, Europe and Globalisation.[3]

In July 2010, the Prime Minister announced that Fraser would become Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to replace Sir Peter Ricketts.[4][5] In July 2015 it was announced Sir Simon was leaving the public sector, to be replaced as Permanent Secretary by Sir Simon McDonald, previously serving as British ambassador to Berlin.[6]

The annual remuneration for his role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was between £160,000 and £165,000 as of June 2010.[7] As of March 2013 his salary at the Foreign Office was between £180,000 and £185,000.[8]

He is a member of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.

Honours

Fraser was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2009 Birthday Honours,[9] Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2013 Birthday Honours,[10] and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2016 New Year Honours.[11]

References

  1. "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014. Mr Simon Fraser, Permanent Under–Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service, 55
  2. https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-fraser
  3. BERR (2009-04-03). "New Permanent Secretary at BERR" (Press release). Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  4. "David Cameron focuses on foreign trade policy". BBC News. 2010-07-22.
  5. Wintour, Patrick (2010-07-21). "Business to drive foreign policy as PM announces diplomatic reshuffle". The Guardian (London).
  6. Parker, George (2015-07-31). "Top Foreign Office mandarin cautions on hollowing out UK diplomacy". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  7. "Top civil servant salary list published". Directgov. 2010-06-01. Archived from the original on 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  8. "Senior Staff and salary data March 2013 - Resources". data.gov.uk. Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59090. p. 3. 13 June 2009.
  10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60534. p. 3. 15 June 2013.
  11. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61450. p. N3. 30 December 2015.

Offices held

Government offices
Preceded by
Unknown
Chef de Cabinet for Commissioner Mandelson
European Commission

2004-2008
Succeeded by
Julian King
Preceded by
Martin Donnelly
Director-General, Europe of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

2008-2009
Succeeded by
Nick Baird
as Director-General, Europe and Globalisation
Preceded by
Sir Brian Bender
Permanent Secretary of the
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

2009
Succeeded by
Himself
as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Preceded by
Himself
as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Permanent Secretary of the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

2009-2010
Succeeded by
Martin Donnelly
Preceded by
Sir Peter Ricketts
Permanent Under-Secretary of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

2010-2015
Succeeded by
Sir Simon McDonald


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.