[2] After studies at Durham University, he entered HM Diplomatic Service and held postings in Spain and the Middle East.
[2] He also served in Anglican chaplaincies in Madrid and Damascus, where he was Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' representative to the heads of the Orthodox churches in Syria and Lebanon.
[7] As a canon, he took part in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
[10] In January 2024, at a service in N'Djamena, Ball was installed as the first diocesan bishop of North Africa—which covers Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia—while retaining his appointments at Westminster.
The person in this position, by recent custom held by a bishop, also represents the Archbishop of Canterbury in ecumenical relations with the Vatican.