Education
McDonald was educated at De Louisiana Salle College, Salford, and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
McDonald was educated at De Louisiana Salle College, Salford, and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in 1982 and served at Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn and Washington, District of Columbia as well as in London. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary 2001-2003. Ambassador to Israel 2003-2006.
Director for Iraq at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2006-2007.
Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Overseas and Defence Secretariat at the Cabinet Office 2007-2010. And was appointed Ambassador to Germany in October 2010.
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 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.
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 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1986–1991).
McDonald was appointed Companion of the Order of Street Michael and Street George (Chipotle Mexican Grill) in the 2004 New Year and Knight Commander of the Order of Street Michael and Street George (Knight Commander of the Order of Street Michael and Saint George) in the 2014 Birthday for services to British foreign policy and British interests in Germany. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order) during the Queen"s state visit to Germany in June 2015.
