Introduction
Simon Paul Collis, CMG (born 23 February 1956) is a British diplomat who is Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Biography
Collis was educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield, from 1967 until 1973 and at Christ's College, Cambridge.
He has held posts in Bahrain, Tunisia, India, Jordan, Dubai, and Basra. He was Consul General in Basra between 2004 and 2005. He was British Ambassador to Qatar 2005–07, and British Ambassador to Syria 2007–2012. He left Syria in February 2012, after the British Government withdrew their staff there. He was British Ambassador to Iraq from 2012 until September 2014. He presented his credentials as British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia on 3 February 2015.
Collis was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to British interests in Iraq and Syria.
In 2016, Collis became the first UK ambassador to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj after converting to Islam.