Edwin Milton Wright (1897–1987) was an American foreign policy specialist. Employed by the U.S. State Department from 1945 to 1955 in a number of capacities, he was especially involved in the events leading up to and surrounding the establishment of Israel.

Life

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Wright was born in Tabriz, the son of American missionaries.[1] Educated at Wooster College and Columbia University, he worked on refugee resettlement in Iraq from 1921 to 1924, and from 1924 until 1937 taught in American secondary schools in Iran.[2] When World War II broke out, as one of the few Americans who could speak Persian he was recruited into US intelligence.[3]

He served as a Middle East specialist for the U.S. State Department from 1945 to 1946; on the Bureau for Near East, South Asian, and African Affairs from 1946 to 1947; as an advisor on United Nations affairs from 1947 to 1950, and as an advisor on intelligence from 1950 to 1955.

References

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  1. ^ Teresa Fava Thomas (2016). American Arabists in the Cold War Middle East, 1946-75: From Orientalism to Professionalism. Anthem Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-78308-510-1.
  2. ^ 'Who's Who in the Middle East and North Africa', The Middle East and North Africa 1965-66, Europa Publications Limited, 1966.
  3. ^ Zachary Lockman (2016). Field Notes: The Making of Middle East Studies in the United States. Stanford University Press. pp. 28–9. ISBN 978-0-8047-9958-4.
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