Simon McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford

The Lord McDonald of Salford
Official portrait, 2021
Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Head of HM Diplomatic Service
In office
September 2015  September 2020
Sec. of StatePhilip Hammond
Boris Johnson
Jeremy Hunt
Dominic Raab
Preceded bySir Simon Fraser
Succeeded bySir Philip Barton
British Ambassador to Germany
In office
2010–2015
MonarchElizabeth II
PresidentChristian Wulff
Joachim Gauck
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded bySir Michael Arthur
Succeeded bySir Sebastian Wood
British Ambassador to Israel
In office
2003–2006
MonarchElizabeth II
PresidentMoshe Katzav
British Prime MinisterTony Blair
Israeli Prime MinisterSharon, Olmert
Preceded bySir Sherard Cowper-Coles
Succeeded bySir 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
Salford, England
Political partyNone (crossbencher)
SpouseOlivia Wright
Children4 (2 sons, 2 daughters)
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
OccupationDiplomat
Awards 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. 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.