{{short description|British Civil servant, former British diplomat}} {{Use British English|date=November 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Sir Simon Gass | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=|GCMG|CVO}} | image = Sir Simon Gass 2011.jpg | caption = Gass in June 2011 | office1 = Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee | term_start1 = 2019 | term_end1 = July 2023 | predecessor1 = [[Charles Farr (civil servant)|Charles Farr]] | successor1 = [[Madeleine Alessandri]] | prime_minister1 = [[Theresa May]]<br />[[Boris Johnson]]<br />[[Rishi Sunak]] | office2 = [[List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to Iran|British Ambassador to Iran]] | term_start2 = 2009 | term_end2 = 2011 | predecessor2 = [[Geoffrey Adams|Sir Geoffrey Adams]] | successor2 = [[Dominick Chilcott]] | prime_minister2 = [[Gordon Brown]]<br />[[David Cameron]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1956|11|2}} | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Marianne Enid Stott <small>(1980–present)</small> | children = 3 | alma_mater = [[University of Reading]] }}

'''Sir Simon Lawrance Gass''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCMG|CVO}} (born 2 November 1956) is a British civil servant. He chaired the [[Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom)|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 Royal College of Defence Studies|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 [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|FCO]] * 1979–83 – [[Lagos]] * 1984–87 – [[Athens]] * 1987–90 – FCO in London * 1990–92 – Assistant [[Private Secretary]] to [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|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 – [[List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece|Ambassador to Greece]] * 2009–11 – [[List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran|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]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Simon Gass appointed as new Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies |url=https://www.da.mod.uk/news/sir-simon-gass-appointed-as-new-commandant-royal-college-of-defence-studies |website=Defence Academy of the United Kingdom |accessdate=13 February 2019}}</ref> *2021–2022 – Prime Minister’s Special Representative for the Afghan Transition<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-gass |title=Sir Simon Gass |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=7 May 2023 |website=gov.uk |publisher=Cabinet Office |access-date=7 May 2023 |quote=}}</ref> * 2019–2023 – Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee<ref>{{cite web |title=Joint Intelligence Committee Chair appointed: Sir Simon Gass |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-intelligence-committee-chair-appointed-sir-simon-gass |website=gov.uk |accessdate=18 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-intelligence-committee-chair-appointed-madeleine-alessandri-cmg |title=Joint Intelligence Committee Chair appointed: Madeleine Alessandri CMG |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=4 May 2023 |website=gov.uk |publisher=UK Cabinet Office |access-date=7 May 2023 |quote=The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has announced the appointment of Madeleine Alessandri CMG as the new Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) and head of the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO). Madeleine will replace Simon Gass who is stepping down after four years in the role.}}</ref>

=== Ambassador to Iran === He was [[List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran|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.<ref name="test">[http://www.metro.co.uk/news/837969-britains-ambassador-to-tehran-sends-angry-tweet-in-diplomatic-iran-row Britain's Ambassador sends angry Tweet ...], Metro Online, 13 August 2010</ref> In January 2011, Gass passed the 1000 follower mark, making him one of the most followed diplomats on Twitter.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

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.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11980421 Iranian politicians call for UK ambassador recall], BBC News, 13 December 2010</ref> 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 [[NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan|Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan]].<ref>[http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_70513.htm NATO Secretary General appoints new Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan], 9 February 2011</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-gass Simon Gass], gov.uk</ref> 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]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=59647 |date=31 December 2010 |page=3 |supp=y }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=64082|page=B3|supp=y|date=17 June 2023}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-gass Gov.uk profile] *[http://www.ukiniran.fco.gov.uk British Embassy in Tehran] *[https://www.facebook.com/ukiniran UK in Iran Facebook Page] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20101211042831/http://ukiniran.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=357050682 Article by Simon Gass: International Human Rights Day], British Embassy Tehran, 10 December 2010, via archive.org

{{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=[[David Madden (diplomat)|Sir David Madden]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece|British Ambassador to Greece]]|years=2004&ndash;2009}} {{s-aft|after=David Landsman}} {{s-bef|before=[[Geoffrey Adams|Sir Geoffrey Adams]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to Iran|British Ambassador to Iran]]|years=2009&ndash;2011}} {{s-aft|after=[[Dominick Chilcott]]}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[[Tom Phillips (diplomat)|Sir Tom Phillips]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies|Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies]]|years=2018–2019}} {{s-aft|after=[[John Kingwell]]}} {{s-gov}} {{s-bef|before = [[Charles Farr (civil servant)|Charles Farr]]}} {{s-ttl|title = Chair of the <br/> [[Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom)|Joint Intelligence Committee]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Madeleine Alessandri]]}} {{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gass, Simon Lawrance}} [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People educated at Eltham College]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Reading]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran]] [[Category:NATO officials]] [[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order]]