Gethins was appointed a Special Adviser to Scotland's
First Minister,
Alex Salmond, advising on European and International Affairs as well as Rural Affairs, Energy and Climate Change and subsequently advised
Nicola Sturgeon. He was a Political Advisor with the
Committee of the Regions in the
European Union, a position which saw him working with local authorities from across Europe. He also worked at Scotland Europa. He was on the list of SNP candidates for the six
Scottish seats in the
2014 European Parliament election, although only the first two SNP candidates were elected.
UK Parliament In February 2015, he was selected by the local party members to contest the
2015 general election at the North East Fife constituency. He won 18,523 votes (a 40.9% share of the vote) and received a majority of 4,344 votes over the
Liberal Democrat candidate, Tim Brett, who was selected after the retirement of the seat's long-term Lib Dem MP and former party leader,
Menzies Campbell. In May 2015, the SNP made him their Spokesperson on Europe at Westminster. In July he was appointed as a member of the House of Commons
Foreign Affairs Select Committee. At the
2017 general election, Gethins was narrowly re-elected as the MP for North East Fife. He received 13,743 votes, giving him a very slim majority of just two votes over the Liberal Democrats; the joint-third smallest majority in British political history. This was confirmed after three re-counts before being declared. After the election, Gethins was promoted to the SNP Westminster
frontbench team of Ian Blackford as the party's Spokesperson for International Affairs and Europe. Despite increasing his share of the vote, he lost his seat at the
2019 general election to the Liberal Democrat candidate,
Wendy Chamberlain who won by a majority of 1,316 votes. This made him the only SNP MP to lose their seat at the general election that year.
After Westminster International Conference in 2024. After losing his Westminster seat Gethins was appointed Professor of Practice in International Relations at the
University of St Andrews. In July 2020, Gethins was announced as the chair of ‘eu+me’- a campaign for a close relationship between Scotland and the EU after Brexit.
Return to Westminster In 2023, he was named the SNP
prospective parliamentary candidate for the new constituency of
Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. In the
2024 general election, Gethins became the first MP for the seat, securing 15,581 votes (35.3%) and a majority of 859 votes (1.9%). The constituency incorporated parts of the former
Dundee East and surrounding Angus areas following the 2023 boundary revisions. In his remarks to
The Scotsman, Gethins expressed enthusiasm about returning to
Parliament, describing it as a privilege. He reflected that his time at
St Andrews allowed him to adopt a valuable “long view” of politics and international affairs. Gethins reaffirmed his belief that rejoining the
European Union is “inevitable,” highlighting the shrinking gap between public opinion and political action. From November 2024, Gethins joined the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission. He also presented a
Private Members' Bill, the Devolution (Immigration) (Scotland) Bill, in October 2024. Since returning to Parliament, Gethins has taken on key leadership roles in several
All‑Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) - informal cross-party groups that enable MPs to collaborate on specific issues beyond formal committee structures. He is the Chair for the APPG on Russia and Democracy, which scrutinises parliamentary responses to the threats posed by
Vladimir Putin’s regime, promotes UK security, and acts as a conduit to pro-democracy networks opposing the
Russian government. He also serves as Vice‑Chair of the APPGs on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, and University. == Personal life ==