Sir John Oliver Wright (6 March 1922 – 1 September 2009) was a British diplomat. He was British Ambassador to West Germany from 1975 to 1981 and

British Ambassador to the United States The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. T ...

from 1982 to 1986.

Early life

Wright was born on 6 March 1921 in Hammersmith, London, England. He was the younger son of Arthur Wright, a catering manager and

hotelier A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...

, and his wife, Ethel Louisa Hicks, (née Shearod). The family moved from London to the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

when Wright was very young. He was educated at

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational Independent school (UK), independent day school in Solihull, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmi ...

, then an all-boys independent school in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

, West Midlands. He won a scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge. There, he studied

modern languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such ...

and specialised in German and French. Following graduation, he joined the military for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. His studies were interrupted by

. He served in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

(1941–45) and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

. Following his service he took and passed the Foreign Office exam, thus was accepted to

Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service 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 ...

Military service

In 1941, having completed his university degree, Wright joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Diplomatic career

Wright's career as a Diplomat was a highly distinguished one: *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(1946–47) *

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

(1948–50) *

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

(1950–51) * Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1952–54) *

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(1954–56) *

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

(1957–58) *

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

(1959) * Assistant Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1960) * Counsellor and Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs (1963) * Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (1964–66) (to Rt Hon. Sir Alec Douglas-Home and subsequently to Rt Hon. Harold Wilson) * Ambassador to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(1966–69) * Deputy Home Office Representative to

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

Government (Aug 1969 – Mar 1970) * Chief Clerk,

(1970–72) * Deputy Under-Secretary of State, FCO (1972–75) * Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany (1975–81) * Retired from

* Re-appointed, Ambassador to

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(1982–86) Having retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1981, he was elected

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Christ's College, Cambridge. He would have become the new Master in 1982, but was recalled to the Diplomatic Service to become British Ambassador to the United States and therefore never took up the appointment.

Later life

On 1 January 1987, Wright was appointed

King of Arms of the Order of St Michael and St George The King of Arms of the Order of St Michael and St George is the herald of the Order of St Michael and St George. Kings of Arms References *Galloway, Peter ''The Order of St Michael and St George'' (London, Third Millennium Publishing, 2000) pp 3 ...

. This appointment is the

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

, one of six officers, of the Order of St Michael and St George. In July 1996, he was succeeded in the appointment by Sir Ewen Fergusson.

Honours and decorations

On 1 December 1964, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his services as

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 ...

to Alec Douglas-Home from 1960 to 1964. On 26 May 1978, he was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 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 ...

(GCVO).

Knight Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

is the highest grade within the Royal Victorian. He was appointed GCVO following the state visit under taken by Queen Elizabeth II to West Germany between 22 and 26 May 1978. * Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) (1944) * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) (1974) * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) (1981)

Offices held

References

External links

Interview with Sir John Oliver Wright

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Oliver 1922 births 2009 deaths People educated at Solihull School Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to West Germany Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Members of HM Diplomatic Service Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II British people in British Malaya British expatriates in Romania British expatriates in South Africa 20th-century British diplomats Royal Naval Reserve personnel