Simon Paul Collis, (23 February 1956) is a former British ambassador to several Middle Eastern countries before retiring from diplomatic service in February 2020.

Biography

Collis was educated at

King Edward VII School, Sheffield King Edward VII School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. History King Edward VII School was formed in 1905 and named after the reigning monarch, when Wesley ...

, from 1967 until 1973 and at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

. He joined

Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Civil Service, which deals ...

in 1978 and served his first posting as Second Secretary in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

from 1981 to 1984. From 1984– 1986 he served as Middle East Spokesman in the News Department of 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 1986 he temporarily served at the UK mission in New York. From 1987 to 1988 he was Head of India Section in the South Asia Department. From 1988 to 1990 he was Deputy Head of Mission in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. From 1990 to 1991 he was in the Gulf War Emergency Unit. From 1991 to 1994 he served as First Secretary in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. From 1994 to 1996 he was Deputy Head of the Near East & North Africa Department. From 1996 to 1999 he was Deputy Head of Mission in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. From 1999 to 2000 he was seconded to BP. From 2000 to 2004 he was Consul-General in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He was Consul General in Basra between 2004 and 2005. He was British Ambassador to Qatar 2005–07, and

British Ambassador to Syria The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Syria was the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative to Syria, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Damascus. The official title was ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Syrian Ar ...

2007–2012. He left Syria in February 2012, after the British Government withdrew their staff there. He was

British Ambassador to Iraq The Ambassador from the United Kingdom to Iraq is the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in Iraq, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Iraq. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Repub ...

from 2012 until September 2014.Iraq Business News
retrieved 3 July 2012 He presented his credentials as

British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Saudi Arabia, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambass ...

on 3 February 2015. Collis 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to British interests in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, Collis became the first UK ambassador to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

after converting to Islam. In 2020, Collis retired as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and from diplomatic service. After leaving the diplomatic service, Collis took on roles at FMA, a consultancy founded by

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...

and Simone Finn; and at Sovereign Strategy, a political consulting and PR firm.

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collis, Simon 1956 births Living people Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Syria Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Qatar Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service British Muslims Converts to Islam 20th-century British diplomats