Oliver Wright

Sir John Oliver Wright, GCMG, GCVO, DSC (6 March 1922 – 1 September 2009) was a British diplomat.

Early life

Wright was born on 6 March 1921. He was educated at Solihull School and later Christ's College, Cambridge although his studies were interrupted by World War II. He served in the Royal Naval Reserve (1941-45) and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Following his service he took and passed the Foreign Office exam, thus was accepted to Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service.

Diplomatic career

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

• New York (1946-47)
• Bucharest (1948-50)
• Singapore (1950-51)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1952-54)
• Berlin (1954-56)
• Pretoria (1957-58)
• Imperial Defence College (1959)
• Assistant Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1960)
• Counsellor and Private Secretary for Foreigh 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 (1966-69)
• Deputy Home Office Representative to Northern Irish Government (Aug 1969-Mar 1970)
• Chief Clerk, Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service (1970-72)
• Deputy Under-Secretary of State, FCO (1972-75)
• Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany (1975-81)
• Retired from Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
• Re-appointed, Ambassador to Washington DC (1982-86)

Styles and Honours

• Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) (1944)
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) (1964)
• Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) (1974)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) (1978)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) (1981)

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir John Henniker-Major	Ambassador to Denmark 1966 - 1969	Succeeded by Sir Murray MacLehose
Preceded by Sir Nicholas Henderson	Ambassador to West Germany 1975 - 1981	Succeeded by Sir John Taylor
Preceded by Sir Nicholas Henderson	Ambassador to the United States 1982 - 1986	Succeeded by Sir Antony Acland

Persondata
Name	Wright, Oliver
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 March 1922
Place of birth
Date of death	1 September 2009
Place of death