Ann Wright

Topics:

Dissent: Voices of Conscience
Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq

Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia. She tendered her resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell, contending that without the authorization of the U.N. Security Council, the invasion and occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich country would be a disaster.

Wright joined the Foreign Service in 1987 and served as Deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia and briefly in Afghanistan. She received the State Department's Award for Heroism for her actions during the evacuation of 2,500 persons from the civil war in Sierra Leone, the largest evacuation since the evacuation of Saigon in 1974. Wright was on the first State Department team to go to Afghanistan, where she helped reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in December, 2001. Her other overseas assignments included: Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia and Nicaragua.

Before entering the Foreign Service, Wright served in the Army and has a combined regular Army/Army Reserve service time of 29 years. She served primarily in special operations units and attained the rank of colonel. Colonel Wright is also airborne qualified. She earned master's and law degrees from the University of Arkansas and a master's degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Wright is the author, with Susan Dixon, of the recently released book, Dissent: Voices of Conscience.

Since 2003, Wright has been writing and speaking out for peace. She has fasted for a month, picketed at Guantánamo, served as a juror in the impeachment hearings, and been arrested numerous times for peaceful, nonviolent protest of Bush's policies, particularly the war in Iraq. She participated in the documentary film, "Uncovered: The Truth About the Iraq War" and provided oral and written testimony to the U.S. Congressional hearing on the importance of the Downing Street memos.

P.O. Box 230916, New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-725-5547 • Fax: 212-725-2332 • Contact Speaking Matters

home | categories | what's new | contact us | event inquiry

Copyright © Speaking Matters®, a speakers bureau offering public speakers for
lectures, speeches, panel discussions, and keynote addresses.