Sir Simon James Fraser (born 3 June 1958) is a British former diplomat who served as the

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

of 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 ...

from August 2010 to July 2015, having served as Permanent Secretary of the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , type = Department , logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg , logo_width = 200px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG , seal = , se ...

from May 2009 to August 2010. Sir Simon is a Trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, founded by

Harris Bokhari Harris Bokhari is the founder and a trustee at the Patchwork Foundation, for which he won the Diversity Champion of the Year Award in early 2018. The Patchwork Foundation is a charity that aims to "promote and encourage the positive integration ...

. Sir Simon is currently Deputy Chairman of

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

and serves as Adviser to the Europe Programme. He is also Managing Partner of Flint Global.

Early life

Fraser was educated at

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , he ...

, and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he gained an MA in Classics.

Diplomatic career

Before going to the Business Department, Fraser's career had centred on the

. He joined the Office in 1979, from where he was sent to the United Nations to help the lead UK delegation to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly. 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 Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

in September 2004; he returned to the FCO in February 2008, where he took up the role of Director-General, Europe and Globalisation. 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 Peter Forbes Ricketts, Baron Ricketts, (born 30 September 1952) is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2016. Ricketts served as chair of the Joint Intelligence Committe ...

. 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. The annual remuneration for his role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was between £160,000 and £165,000 in June 2010. In March 2013 his annual salary at the Foreign Office was between £180,000 and £185,000. He is a member of the

Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network The Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network is an employer-led body sponsored by the Skills Funding Agency in England. Its remit is to encourage more employers to become involved in apprenticeships in England. The Network is the successor body to the A ...

Honours

Fraser was appointed

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 2009 Birthday Honours,

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the 2013 Birthday Honours, and

Knight Grand Cross 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(GCMG) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were 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 celebrati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Simon 1958 births Living people People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Members of HM Diplomatic Service Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century British diplomats