Joanne King Herring (born July 3, 1929) is an American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and former television talk show host. Originally from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, she is best known for influencing policy through her long association and political relation with the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Zia-ul-Haq (1977–88). Herring also served as the honorary

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

at the Consulate-General of Pakistan based in

; on special request and favor of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq she is also the recipient of the ''Jinnah Medal'', one of Pakistan's highest honors. Throughout the 1980s, Herring lobbied for United States

support Support may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Supporting character Business and finance * Support (technical analysis) * Child support * Customer support * Income Support Construction * Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...

for the

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in collaboration with

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Charlie Wilson. These events inspired the book '' Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History''; Herring is portrayed by actress Julia Roberts in the 2007 film '' Charlie Wilson's War''. Since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, Herring has stated that she "did not make

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

" and that she "cannot predict the future." Herring remains active in social circles in Houston and regularly contributes to and participates in benefits to help American troops and the Afghan people. Her second book, ''Diplomacy and Diamonds: My Wars from the Ballroom to the Battlefield'', was released on January 1, 2011.

Life and work

Herring was born Joanne Johnson in

, the daughter of Maelan (McGill) and William Dunlap Johnson. Herring grew up in the city's affluent

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael ...

neighborhood, and her childhood acquaintances included

James A. Baker, III James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

, who would later serve as Secretary of State. She enrolled at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, but left after her second year to marry real estate developer Robert King. A fixture on the Houston social circuit, Herring became notorious for the lavish, decadent birthday party her husband threw for her in 1959. The "Roman orgy"-themed affair included period costumes and a mock slave auction, and was covered by ''Life'' magazine and various local news media. In the late 1950s, she began a 15-year-long hosting tenure for the eponymous daytime talk show ''The Joanne King Show'' on Houston's KHOU-TV station. By 1974, her show had moved to KPRC.

Media appearances

Herring appears as herself in the comic 1999 documentary feature ''Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me'' and the 1970s

German television Television in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was home to the first public television station in the world, named ''Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow''. In 2000, the German television market h ...

news series ''V.I.P.-Schaukel''. In the former—the story of a Houston businessman who marries five times—Herring playfully introduces herself by saying, "Well, my name is Joanne Johnson King Herring Davis, and I've had almost as many husbands as he's had wives." Herring has also appeared on CNN with Ali Velshi multiple times to discuss continued American involvement in

Marshall Plan Charities

In 2009, Herring founded Marshall Plan Charities, which seeks to "complement the ongoing U.S. military effort in Afghanistan by rapidly and effectively redeveloping normal, healthy civilian life village by village." The organization unites the efforts of various NGOs concerned with the Afghan people in hopes of providing villages with clean water, food, healthcare, schools, and jobs.

Involvement with Zia-ul-Haq

Herring is known for her long association and political engagement with

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq. Her contacts with Zia dated back to the early 1970s, when he, as

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, was a contingent commander of Pakistani military formations in Jordan. In 1980, Zia convened and held a dinner in honor of Robert and Joanne Herring in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. About the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

program run against the prime minister

Zulfikar Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

, Herring reportedly defended Zia's action. She also wrote that ulfikarBhutto "was tried by his own judges and convicted of murder. The

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

serves as the unofficial

constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

. It exacts an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If you murder, you must die. The only thing Zia did was to not commute Bhutto's sentence. In a country whose constitution demanded capital punishment for murder, Zia could not violate the Law." In '' Charlie Wilson's War'', George Crile III maintained that "Herring was said to have been a most trusted American adviser in President Zia's administration." It was Herring who acquainted Charlie Wilson with Zia who later secured major funding for Pakistan's anti-communist policies. Over the years, Herring's influence on Zia and his

military administration Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outsid ...

grew further, and Zia became so enamoured with her that he would interrupt cabinet meetings to take her call. Said Foreign minister Yaqub Khan in his memoirs: "She absolutely had his ear, it was terrible!" Zia neglected protocols and dismayed 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 ...

when he appointed her his honorary

at the

-based Consulate-General of Pakistan. In a public ceremony held in Pakistan, Zia personally honored her with Pakistan's highest civilian honor, the

Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam, ( ur, تمغہِ قائدِ اعظم, , ''Medal of the Great Leader''), is a civil award conferred by the Government of Pakistan on those who have attained academic distinction in the fields of science, art, literature, or dis ...

(lit. ''Jinnah Medal''). She paid tribute to Zia in her 2011 autobiography.

Husain Haqqani Husain Haqqani (; born 1 July 1956, alternately spelled Hussain Haqqani) is a Pakistani journalist, academic, political activist, and former ambassador of Pakistan to Sri Lanka and the United States. Haqqani has written four books on Pakistan, ...

, former Pakistan Ambassador and former adviser to three Pakistani prime ministers, described Herring as "known more for glamour than for political wisdom," and Zia "showered her with hospitality to use her connections.", page 256 Haqqani described her as knowing "little about the country," criticizing her for inaccurately describing Pakistan as an "Arab nation" in her memoirs.

Awards

* Received the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge Award in the 1960s * Knighted by the King of Belgium in the 1970s * Made roaming Ambassador of Pakistan in the 1980s, and received the

, the highest honor given by the nation of Pakistan. * International Women's Forum "Women Who Make a Difference" Award, 1987 * Made a Dame in Order of St. Francis in 2011 * Inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 2014

References

External links

*
"25 Most Beautiful Houstonians: Compassion and generosity make for a beautiful community"
''H Texas magazine'', August 2007
Marshall Plan Charities
joanneherring.com
Film Footage of Joanne King Herring (1970)

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herring, Joanne 1929 births Living people American activists American socialites American women television personalities People from Houston People of the Soviet–Afghan War American expatriates in Pakistan Recipients of Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam Pakistani-American history Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) American women in politics Anti-communism in Pakistan Conservatism in Pakistan Television personalities from Texas