Sir Simon Lawrance Gass (born 2 November 1956) is a British civil servant. Since 2019, he has chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee and he also currently serves as the British Prime Minister's representative on Afghanistan. Between 2018 and 2019, he was the

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. During his diplomatic career, he served as British ambassador to Greece and to Iran.

Career

* 1977 – Joined the FCO * 1979–83 –

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

* 1984–87 –

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

* 1987–90 – FCO in London * 1990–92 – Assistant

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, London * 1992–95 – Rome * 1995–98 – Counsellor, FCO * 1998–01 – Deputy High Commissioner South Africa * 2001–04 – Director, Resources, then Finance, FCO * 2004–09 – Ambassador to Greece * 2009–11 – Ambassador to Iran * 2011–12 – NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan * 2013–16 – Political Director, FCO, and Prime Minister's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan * 2017–present – Chair of the

FCDO Services The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

Board * 2018–2019 –

Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies The Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies, formerly the Commandant of the Imperial Defence College, is the head of the Royal College of Defence Studies, a British military staff college which instructs senior officers, diplomats, and ci ...

* 2019–present – Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee

Ambassador to Iran

He was British Ambassador to Iran 2009–11. He arrived in post during the Spring of 2009 from his previous posting in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and was present during the June 2009 protests following the disputed re-election of Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

. Following these events Gass posted his views from

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

on the social networking site Twitter, commenting on the Iranian regime's record on human rights, political prisoners and freedom of speech. His 'tweets' are shared widely by Iranian reformists and diaspora across the web as well as being featured in mainstream media.Britain's Ambassador sends angry Tweet ...
Metro Online, 13 August 2010 In January 2011, Gass passed the 1000 follower mark, making him one of the most followed diplomats on Twitter. In December 2010, Gass's digital activities caused mild uproar among Iranian politicians, who called for his expulsion after he highlighted the case of human rights lawyer

Nasrin Sotoudeh Nasrin Sotoudeh ( fa, نسرین ستوده) is a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections as well as prisoners sent ...

in an article posted on the British Embassy in Iran website. The statement was released on International Human Rights Day and criticised Iran's human rights record. The

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

defended Gass's comments, which gained widespread approval from his Iranian reformist followers on Twitter.

NATO and FCO

In February 2011 Gass was seconded to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

as Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan. After serving in this post for 18 months he returned to the FCO in London as Director General, Political, and the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He retired from the FCO in 2016.

FCDO Services

In 2017, Gass was appointed Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board of

Honours

In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gass 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 IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG). In the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 ''New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).

References

External links

British Embassy in TehranUK in Iran Facebook PageArticle by Simon Gass: International Human Rights Day
British Embassy Tehran, 10 December 2010, via archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Gass, Simon Lawrance 1956 births Living people People educated at Eltham College Alumni of the University of Reading Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran NATO officials Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order