Simon Collis has been appointed as new Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in succession of Sir John Jenkins KCMG LVO, who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service, according to a statement released by UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Collis will take up his appointment at the end of January 2015, the statement added.
Collis joined the FCO in 1978 and after studying Arabic has served mainly in the Middle East and South Asia. His first posting was to Bahrain. He has been British Ambassador to Iraq, Syria and Qatar. He was British Consul-General in Dubai and in Basra. He has also served in Tunis, New Delhi and Amman, the statement read