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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Since 2017, he has served on the governing board at Eton College.[12]
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, calling on the Syrian first lady to take a stand against violence in her country.[14] The Lyall Grants have a son and a daughter. Lyall Grant's spare time activities include golf, tennis, and bridge.[4]