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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's National Security Adviser and

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook *"Permanent", a song by Alex Lahey from ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', 2023 Other ...

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. It ...

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

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and read law at

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

. 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 entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, London before joining the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

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 fifteen member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the president ...

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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(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.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before t ...

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 Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

. 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 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 of Sherborne, (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 20 ...

. Since 2017, he has served on the governing board at

. He was appointed

King of Arms of the Order of St Michael and St George The King of Arms of the Order of St Michael and St George is the herald of the Order of St Michael and St George. Kings of Arms References * Galloway, Peter ''The Order of St Michael and St George'' (London, Third Millennium Publishing, 2000) pp ...

in 2022.

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 (; Akhras; born 11 August 1975) is the former first lady of Syria, married to Bashar al-Assad. Her husband was president from 2000 until he was overthrown on 8 December 2024. Born and raised in London, to Syrian parents, ...

, calling on the Syrian first lady to take a stand against violence in her country.Lyall Grant appeals to Syria's First Lady
bbc.co.uk. Accessed 21 February 2024. 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 National Security Advisers (United Kingdom)