Patrick Richard Henry Wright, Baron Wright of Richmond, (28 June 1931 – 6 March 2020) was a British diplomat who served as Head of HM Diplomatic Service. He sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

from 10 February 1994 until his retirement on 17 December 2019.

Background

Patrick Wright was the son of Herbert and Rachel Wright. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

. Having served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1950 and 1951, he went up to

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in '' Literae humaniores'' in 1955.

Diplomatic career

He joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1955 and went to study

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

at MECAS in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

from 1956 to 1957. He was posted as

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 seating ...

in the British Embassy in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

from 1958 to 1960. Between 1960 and 1965, he was private secretary to the ambassador and first secretary in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, embassy, between 1965 and 1967 private secretary to the FCO's Permanent Under-Secretary of State (PUS) and first secretary and Head of Chancery in the British embassy in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

between 1967 and 1970. Wright was deputy political resident in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in 1971 and 1972, head of Middle East Department in the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

from 1972 to 1974, and private secretary (overseas affairs) to two

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

and

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

from 1974 to 1977. In 1977, Patrick Wright was appointed ambassador to Luxembourg and to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in 1979, where he remained until 1981. He was Deputy Under-Secretary of State at the FCO from 1982 to 1984. Sir Patrick Wright was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1984 to 1986. For the next five years he combined the roles of

PUS Pus is an exudate, typically white-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammation during infections, regardless of cause. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collect ...

at the FCO and head of HM Diplomatic Service until he retired in 1991.

Post retirement

Lord Wright was a director of

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

from 1991 until 1996, of BP until 2001, of

De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that produces secure digital and physical protections for goods, trade, and identities in 140 countries. It sells to governments, central banks, and businesses. Its ...

until 2000, of

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

until 1999 and of BAA until 1998. Between 1993 and 2002, he was a member of the

Security Commission The Security Commission, sometimes known as the Standing Security Commission,Geoffrey Philip Wilson, "Cases and materials on constitutional and administrative law", Cambridge University Press, 1976 p. 98. was a UK non-departmental public body or ...

. He was a member of the Council of

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

(Royal Institute of International Affairs) from 1992 to 1999, and chairman from 1995 to 1999. He was Member of Council of

Atlantic College UWC Atlantic (formally the United World College of the Atlantic, and often referred to by its original name, Atlantic College) is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Fo ...

between 1993 and 2000, and of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

from 1991 to 2001. Wright was Governor of the Ditchley Foundation from 1986 until his death in 2020. From 1991 to 2001, he was a Governor of Wellington College, from 1991 to 1995 Registrar of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, and Director of Overseas Relations from 1995 to 1997. He was a founding trustee of the UK-based family support charity Home-Start International, of which he was chairman from 2004 to 2007.

Honours

In the 1978 New Year Honours, Wright was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

as a Companion (CMG), promoted to be a Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1984 Birthday Honours, and again to be a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in the 1989 Birthday Honours. One year later he was appointed to the Order of St John as a Knight (KStJ). In the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

, it was announced that he would become a life peer and he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wright of Richmond, of Richmond upon Thames in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

on 10 February 1994.

Family

Patrick Wright married Virginia Anne Gaffney in 1958. They had two sons, Marcus (born 1959) and

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

(born 1964), and one daughter, Olivia, Lady McDonald (born 1963), wife of Simon McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford (later also Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and head of the Diplomatic Service).

Arms

References

External links

WRIGHT OF RICHMOND
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014) * https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Diplomatic_Cable_signed_by_D.A._Greenhill%2C_dated_August_24%2C_1966.jpg {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright of Richmond, Patrick Wright, Baron 1931 births 2020 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Wright of Richmond Diplomatic peers Members of HM Diplomatic Service Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Order of St John People associated with the Royal College of Music Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Syria Chairs of the Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom) Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs British colonial political officers Private secretaries in the British Civil Service 20th-century British diplomats Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014