Sir Simon Lawrance Gass (born 2 November 1956) is a British civil servant. He chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee from 2019 to 2023 and served as the British Prime Minister's representative on Afghanistan from 2021 to 2022 concurrently. Between 2018 and 2019, he was the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies. During his diplomatic career, he served as British ambassador to Greece and to Iran. In May 2023, it was announced he was stepping down as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and succeeded by Madeleine Alessandri.
Career 1977 – Joined the FCO 1979–83 – Lagos 1984–87 – Athens 1987–90 – FCO in London 1990–92 – Assistant Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary, 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 Board 2018–2019 – Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies 2021–2022 – Prime Minister’s Special Representative for the Afghan Transition 2019–2023 – 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 and was present during the June 2009 protests following the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.
Following these events Gass posted his views from Tehran 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 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.Iranian politicians call for UK ambassador recall, BBC News, 13 December 2010 The Foreign and Commonwealth Office 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 as Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan.NATO Secretary General appoints new Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, 9 February 2011 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.Simon Gass, gov.uk He retired from the FCO in 2016.
FCDO Services In 2017, Gass was appointed Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board of FCDO Services.
Honours Gass was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1998 Birthday Honours, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2011 New Year Honours, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to national security and British foreign policy.
References
External links Gov.uk profile British Embassy in Tehran UK in Iran Facebook Page Article by Simon Gass: International Human Rights Day, British Embassy Tehran, 10 December 2010, via archive.org