Sir Mark Justin Lyall Grant, (born 29 May 1956) is a former senior British diplomat who was previously the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

National Security Adviser A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

and

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative to the United Nations, and in charge of the ''United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations'' (UKMIS). UK permanen ...

Education and early life

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

to Mary (née Moore) and Maj Gen Ian Lyall Grant MC, Grant was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and read law at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

as a student of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, London before joining the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

in 1980.

Career

Lyall Grant was British Permanent Representative to the United Nations ( UN) from 2009 to 2015.ukun.fco.gov.uk: "Permanent Representative – Sir Mark Lyall Grant"
/ref> He held the office of

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

four times: in November 2010, March 2012, June 2013, and August 2014. Lyall Grant was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...

before being promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the

2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

and a Knight Grand Cross in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. On 7 July 2015, Number 10 Downing St announced that Lyall Grant would replace Sir Kim Darroch as the United Kingdom's

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

on 7 September 2015, with Darroch moving to a different diplomatic post. As of September 2015, Lyall Grant was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. On 27 February 2017 it was announced that Lyall Grant would retire in April and be replaced by the Home Office Permanent Secretary

Mark Sedwill Mark Philip Sedwill, Baron Sedwill, (born 21 October 1964) is a British diplomat and senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson from 2018 to 2020. He ...

. Since 2017, he has served on the

governing board A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Foreign and Commonwealth Office career timeline

* 2015–17 National Security Adviser * 2009–15 British Permanent Representative to the United Nations * 2007–09 FCO, Director General for Political Affairs * 2003–06 High Commissioner to Pakistan * 2000–03 FCO director, Africa * 1998–2000 Head, European Union department, FCO * 1996–98 Deputy High Commissioner and Consul General, South Africa * 1994–96 Seconded to European Secretariat, Cabinet Office * 1990–93 First Secretary, Paris * 1987–89 Private Secretary to Minister of State, FCO * 1985–87 FCO * 1982–85 Second Secretary, Islamabad * 1980–82 FCO, worked in Southern Africa department

Personal life

His wife, Sheila, is also a diplomat. In April 2012, Lady Lyall Grant, with Huberta von Voss Wittig, made a video appeal to

Asma al-Assad Asma Fawaz al-Assad (born 11 August 1975) is the First Lady of Syria. Born and raised in London to Syrian parents, she is married to the 19th and current President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Assad graduated from King's College London in 1996 ...

, calling on the Syrian first lady to take a stand against violence in her country.BBC News website https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17753841 The Lyall Grants have a son and a daughter. Lyall Grant's spare time activities include golf, tennis, and bridge.

References

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyall Grant, Mark 1956 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Pakistan Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats