Jeffrey Ross Gunter

Jeffrey Ross Gunter (born January 31, 1961

Gunter graduated from Beverly Hills High School.^[5] He received his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983 and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the USC School of Medicine in 1987.^[6]

Gunter completed his residency in 1991 at the Los Angeles General Medical Center, where he served as the chief resident of dermatology.^[5]

Career

In addition to practicing dermatology, Gunter served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.^[5]

U.S. Ambassador to Iceland

Appointment

On August 21, 2018, Trump nominated Gunter to serve as

Gunter had never visited Iceland prior to his nomination to the ambassadorship.^[9]

Tenure

In July 2020, CBS News reported that Gunter was "paranoid" about his security in the Icelandic capital,

In February 2020, after taking personal leave after a conference in Washington, Gunter refused to return to his post in Reykjavik. The State Department attributed Gunter's delayed return to Iceland to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, "multiple sources in Washington, Reykjavík, and elsewhere said Gunter wanted to work remotely from California and told senior officials he would not go back overseas unless expressly ordered to do so by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo".^[10] A series of senior State Department officials failed to persuade Gunter to return. After Pompeo called him, Gunter returned to Iceland in May 2020.^[10] Gunter is controversial in Iceland, with many objecting to his description of COVID-19 as "the Invisible China Virus!" on Twitter.^[10]

In late October 2020, Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið reported that an employee of the embassy had contracted COVID-19. The article also stated that the relocation of the embassy was fast-tracked despite the fact that an employee had contracted the coronavirus. Gunter reportedly sought to ensure that the move would be complete before the upcoming US presidential election.^[11] Following the publication, the US embassy Facebook page posted a statement claiming the article was “irresponsible,” “shameful,” and “fake news.”^[12] The statement asserted that the embassy was “one of the safest havens from COVID-19 in Reykjavík.” The post incorrectly claimed that Iceland had one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in Europe.^[13]

In 2021, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a report indicating that Gunter had created a "'threatening and intimidating environment'" at the embassy.^[14]

Political involvement

Gunter was registered as a Democrat in California, but did not contribute to Democratic candidates.^[14] Gunter's dermatology practice began in California in 1992 and expanded to Nevada in 1995; he changed his residency to Nevada in 2019.^[15]

Donations to Republican Party

He has a history of donating to

Gunter is running the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Nevada in 2024, seeking to challenge Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen.^[14] In the Republican primary, he is running against Sam Brown, former state Representative Jim Marchant, former lieutenant governor candidate Tony Grady, and nine other candidates.^[14][17]

Republican Party leaders discouraged Gunter from entering the 2024 race, in part because of his record as ambassador and in part because he had not previously voted in any Nevada election.