Sir David John Wright (born 16 June 1944) is a former

British diplomat His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

who served as British Ambassador to Japan 1996–1999.

Early life

Wright was educated at

Wolverhampton Grammar School Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Wolverhampton, England. History Initially a grammar school for boys, WGS was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who ...

, and at

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Diplomatic career

He joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in 1966 and was posted as

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

, later

Second Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

, to Tokyo. He returned to the FCO in 1972 and was promoted in London to First Secretary before attending the

École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President of France, President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the Constitu ...

in Paris in 1975. From 1976 to 1980 he was posted as First Secretary to the Paris Embassy. He was seconded to be

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the

Secretary of the Cabinet The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, known informally as the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, is the second-most senior civil servant of the Cabinet Office. It was conventionally joined with the positions of Cabinet Se ...

(1980–1982), as a

Grade 7 Seventh grade (or grade seven) is a year or level of education. The seventh grade is the eighth school year, the second or third year of middle school, and the first year of junior high school. Students are around 13-14 years old in this stage of ...

civil servant. From 1982-1985 he was Counsellor (Economic) in Tokyo. Returning again to the FCO, he was Head of the Personnel Services Department from 1985 to 1988. From there he was seconded to be Deputy Private Secretary to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

(1988–1990). Wright was appointed Ambassador to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in 1990 and four years later returned to London as Deputy Under Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 1996 to 1999 he was appointed Ambassador to Japan, a post which he left to become Chief Executive of British Trade International, which promotes British exports and

inward investment Inward investment is the injection of money from an external source into a region, in order to purchase capital goods for a branch of a corporation to locate or develop its presence in the region. Foreign sources, such as transnational corporatio ...

. He retired in 2002. As of 2014, he is the Chairman of the Governing Body of the

Perse School (He who does things for others does them for himself) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = Nondenominational Christian , president = , head_label = Head , he ...

, Cambridge.

Post retirement

After retiring from HM Diplomatic Service, Wright joined Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of the Barclays group, as Vice Chairman where he is responsible for banking client relations in Asia-Pacific and Barclays links with UK government and other public entities. He is also Vice-President of the China-Britain Business Council, a member of the International Advisory Board of

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...

, and a Governor of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. He is the current Chair at the Korean British Business Council. He was made a

LVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in 1990, CMG in 1992, promoted to in 1996 and further promoted to

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 2002. As of December 2017, Wright is Chairman of the board at Skarbek Associates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, David 1944 births Living people Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge British diplomats in East Asia English chief executives Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Japan Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to South Korea Members of HM Diplomatic Service Members of the Household of the Prince of Wales People educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School People from Wolverhampton 20th-century British diplomats

Early life

Diplomatic career

Post retirement

See also

References

External links