John_Gerson
John Gerson
British political consultants
John Gerson was deputy head of MI6. He studied Art History at the University of Freiburg and then went to King's College, Cambridge.[1] 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 on China.[2] 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.[1][3][4][5] In 1992, he was visiting fellow in East Asian studies at Princeton University.[1]
In 2001, he left MI6 and joined BP as a senior political adviser; he became their Head of Government and Public Affairs[6] from 2007 to 2012.[7] He joined the company in 2000.[5] 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.[4][8]
He became CMG im 1999. He is a bird-watcher.