Simon Fraser (diplomat)

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. Sir Simon is a Trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, founded by Harris Bokhari.[3] Sir Simon is currently Deputy Chairman of Chatham House and serves as Adviser to the Europe Programme. He is also Managing Partner of Flint Global.[4]

Fraser speaking at Chatham House, September 2015

Early life

Fraser was educated at St Paul's School, London, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he gained an MA in Classics.[5]

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, from where he was sent to the United Nations to help the lead UK delegate to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly.</ref[6]> Following this, he 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.[7]

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.[8][9] 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.[10]

The annual remuneration for his role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was between £160,000 and £165,000 in June 2010.[11] In March 2013 his annual salary at the Foreign Office was between £180,000 and £185,000.[12]

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,[13] Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2013 Birthday Honours,[14] and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2016 New Year Honours.[15]

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. "Sir Simon Fraser". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
3. https://patchworkfoundation.org.uk/about/our-people/trustees/
4. https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/governance/sir-simon-fraser
5. "Sir Simon Fraser (m1976 Classics) awarded GCMG in the New Year Honours". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
6. chu.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/Fraser.pdf (PDF). Sir Simon Fraser https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/Fraser.pdf. Retrieved 3 January 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. BERR (3 April 2009). "New Permanent Secretary at BERR". Archived from the original (Press release) on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
8. "David Cameron focuses on foreign trade policy". BBC News. 22 July 2010.
9. Wintour, Patrick (21 July 2010). "Business to drive foreign policy as PM announces diplomatic reshuffle". The Guardian. London.
10. Parker, George (31 July 2015). "Top Foreign Office mandarin cautions on hollowing out UK diplomacy". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
11. "Top civil servant salary list published". Directgov. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
12. "Senior Staff and salary data March 2013 – Resources". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Government of the United Kingdom. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
13. "No. 59090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2009. p. 3.
14. "No. 60534". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 3.
15. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N3.

Offices held