Carl W. Wright (born 18 February 1950) is a

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, former director of the

Commonwealth Trade Union Group The Commonwealth Trade Union Group (abbreviated CTUG) is a London-based international alliance of trade union in the Commonwealth countries. It was previously known as the Commonwealth Trade Union Council (abbreviated CTUC). As of 2007, the combine ...

(1980–94) and Secretary-General of the

Commonwealth Local Government Forum The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) is a global local government organisation, bringing together local authorities, their national associations and the ministries responsible for local government in the member countries of the Commonwe ...

(1994–2016). Author 'Global Citizen: Grass Roots Activism and High Diplomacy' (Hansib Publication 2022)

Education

Wright spent his childhood in

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and studied European Politics at the University of Reading, and Regional Economic and Urban Planning at the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Early career

In 1973, Wright joined the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

as adviser to Commissioner

George Thomson George Thomson may refer to: Government and politics * George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician * George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...

, as one of the first Britons to work for the Commission and Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (1974–80).

Commonwealth career

From 1980 to 1988 he was the founding Director of the

(at that time called the Commonwealth Trade Union Council), which campaigned for human and labour rights, and Assistant Director at the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

(198894) where he dealt with Commonwealth programmes for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. In 1994 he became the founding director of the

and its Secretary-General from 1995 to 2016. One key achievement during this time was the adoption of the Aberdeen Agenda: Commonwealth Principles on Good Practice for Local Democracy and Good Governance which guides the Commonwealth advocacy and engagement on local democracy and was incorporated into the Commonwealth Charter in 2013. Wright has been a member of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Government on Post-2015 and Habitat III representing global local government organisations at the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development and COP21 Paris and chaired key UN consultations on 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2013–16). In 2016 he joined the board of trustees of the UN Association UK, the Ramphal Institute and editorial board of '' The Round Table'' journal. For his work in "international co-operation" and other areas, Wright received an honorary doctorate in Administration from the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

in 2013.

External links

Carl Wright - photo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Carl 1950 births Living people British civil servants–