Lord McDonald of Salford presented with honorary degree by University of Salford
The University of Salford has presented former diplomat and top civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford with an honorary doctorate.
Simon McDonald was born and educated in Salford and read History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, before spending almost four decades in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service.
On graduation in 1982, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and, early in his career, served in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn and Washington, D.C. He was British Ambassador to Israel (2003-2006) and to Germany (2010-15). In September 2015, he became Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO and Head of the Diplomatic Service.
After leaving the FCO in 2020, he was appointed a life peer, taking his seat as Lord McDonald of Salford in February 2021. He has been Master of Christ’s College, Cambridge, since September 2022.
Simon is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).
His first book - Leadership: Lessons from a Life in Diplomacy - was published in November 2022 and his second - Beyond Britannia: Reshaping UK Foreign Policy - in November 2023.
On receiving the award, Simon said: “I was taken aback to receive the Vice Chancellor’s letter offering me an honorary degree. I was born in Salford and lived in the city until I was twenty-one. As a child I often used to pass the Maxwell Building on the bus, I never dreamt that one day I would get a doctorate there. I feel very honoured. After my grandparents died and my parents moved away, I haven’t returned all that often; this is the loveliest reason to come home!”