Ann Wright Papers

Born in 1946, Ann Wright is a 1964 graduate of Bentonville High School in Arkansas. After graduation she attended one year at Hendrix College and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1968. After college she joined the U.S. Army and served for three years on active duty. After that she backpacked around the world through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Burma. She then worked in Greece for the U.S. Navy. Ms. Walker received a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and a Law Degree, both from the University of Arkansas. Ms. Wright also earned a Master’s Degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Ms. Wright rejoined the U.S. Army in 1982 and served in special operations units in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, where she became airborne qualified. She also served in Panama and countries of Central America. In 1987 she joined the Foreign Service and became a diplomat, but she remained in the U.S. Army Reserves. During her 28 years with the military, she specialized in civil reconstruction following military action, political-military affairs, and civic action and psychological operations. Ms. Wright retired as a Colonel in ????

During 17 years as a U.S. diplomat, Ms. Wright's overseas assignments included Somalia, with both the U.S. mission and as chief of the Justice Division (reconstituting the Somali police, judicial and prison systems) of the United Nations Mission to Somalia (UNOSOM). She also served in U.S. Embassies in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia and Nicaragua. In 1997 Ms. Wright was awarded the State Department’s Medal for Heroism for her performance as the Acting Ambassador for the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone, during the evacuation of 2,500 people under fire from rebels in the country. Ms. Wright was on the first team to go to Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001. She helped reopen the U.S. Embassy there and worked in Afghanistan for five months.

Ms. Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She resigned due to her disagreement with the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq without the authorization of the U.N. Security Council, the lack of effort in resolving the Israel-Palestinian situation, the lack of policy on North Korea, and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties in the United States since September 11, 2001.

Ms. Wright has been interested in alternative medicine for many years. She completed a one-year massage therapy course in Hawaii and is licensed there. During her nine months in Mongolia, Ms. Wright studied various aspects of Buddhist Tibetan medicine.

Ms. Wright lives in Honolulu, Hawaii where she is active in international organizations focused on Asia and the Pacific. She has spoken and written frequently nationally and internationally.

Ann Wright's history of her activism fills in many gaps in the above shorter biographical sketch: available at https://digitalcollections.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/node/437531