William Robert Wright (May 20, 1935 – January 13, 2012) was an American attorney, political candidate, and author.

Early life and education

Wright was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, to Ralph Bassett Wright and Afton Middlemiss Wright. He graduated from East High School in 1953, and then served in the Swiss Austrian

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the LDS Church from 1955 to 1958. Returning home to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, he was elected student body vice president and received a Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1960, and a J.D. in 1963.

Career

Wright worked at the firm Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough in Salt Lake City for 29 years.. He later become a partner at

Arent Fox Arent Fox Schiff LLP (formerly Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn) is a national white shoe law firm and lobbying firm. It represents global corporations, local and national politicians, and large non-profit organizations. The firm is ranked ...

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

, and then at

Bryan Cave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...

. From 1977 to 1979, Wright was Chairman of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has sup ...

. He ran unsuccessfully as the GOP's candidate for Utah governor in the 1980 gubernatorial election against Scott M. Matheson.Bob Wright, former Utah GOP leader, dies
''The Salt Lake Tribune,'' January 13, 2012 He was considered for

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 ...

Ronald Reagan's judicial nomination to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distr ...

. From 1989 to 1992, Wright served in the LDS Church as

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 ...

of the

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North

. There, he met Gregory Prince, a pathology researcher, and they began a ten-year collaboration to produce a biography of David O. McKay. The book drew from the Middlemiss papers and interviews conducted by Wright and Prince, and was published in 2005 as '' David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism'', winning multiple awards. After retiring from full time legal work, Wright practiced law independently in

and

He also served as chairman of the

's Institutional Council and as chairman of the Utah State School Board. Wright was also a lecturer and Fellow of the S.J. Quinney College of Law and held leadership positions with the Utah State Bar.

Personal life

Wright married Janet Clark in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

in 1965. They lived in Salt Lake City and had one daughter and seven sons, including Thomas Wright, a real estate broker and one-time Chairman of the

. Wright died on January 13, 2012, after a 20-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Notes

Citations

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Bob 1935 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American biographers American Latter Day Saint writers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American Mormon missionaries in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Utah Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Mission presidents (LDS Church) Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah people Utah lawyers Utah Republicans Writers from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century American lawyers