• 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. 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. 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. 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
FCDO Services. ==Honours==