John Gerson was deputy head of MI6. He studied Art History at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

and then went to

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. He went to India on the Commonwealth Expedition (COMEX) in 1965. He was HM Consul in Beijing from 1974 to 1977 and interpreted for and advised

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

on China. Later he worked as a consultant in Brazil, Tanzania, and North Korea and was an Associate Member of University College London's Centre for the Study of Socialist Legal Systems. In 1992, he was visiting fellow in East Asian studies at Princeton University. In 2001, he left MI6 and joined BP as a senior political adviser; he became their Head of Government and Public Affairs from 2007 to 2012. He joined the company in 2000. Gerson also chaired BP China Ltd and BP South East Asia Ltd. On 24 April 2012, he has been appointed in the Board of Directors of the Handeni Gold Inc., a mineral exploration company which is mainly active in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He became CMG im 1999. He is a bird-watcher.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British diplomats in China British political consultants Birdwatchers British expatriate academics {{England-bio-stub