Donald John Wright is an American physician, government official, and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Tanzania between 2020 and 2023. Wright served as Acting

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

for twelve days in 2017. He was designated by

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 ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

after his predecessor, Tom Price, resigned on September 29, 2017, amid a charter-flight scandal. Wright was replaced as acting secretary by newly confirmed Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan on October 10, 2017.

Education

Wright received his undergraduate degree from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

and his medical degree from the

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Fe ...

. He completed his family medicine residency training at

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

. In addition to his medical degree, he holds a Master of Public Health degree from the

Medical College of Wisconsin The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical school, pharmacy school, and graduate school of sciences headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school was established in 1893 and is the largest research center in eastern Wisconsin ...

Career

After completing his residency, Wright worked for 15 years in the private sector, maintaining an extensive clinical and consulting practice in Central Texas. From 2003 to 2007, Wright was Director of the Office of Occupational Medicine for the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...

(OSHA). Wright started at HHS in 2007, as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health. In 2009, he became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Care Quality, and in 2012, he was named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. He continued in those positions after being replaced as acting Secretary of HHS. In October 2019, Wright was nominated to be the next United States Ambassador to Tanzania. He appeared before the

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

in December, received committee approval in January 2020, and was confirmed by voice vote of the full Senate on February 11, 2020. Wright was sworn in on April 2, 2020, but did not present his credentials to President John Pombe Magufuli in Dar es Salaam until August 2, 2020.

References

External links

Biography at U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Don J. 21st-century American physicians Living people Medical College of Wisconsin alumni Physicians from Texas Texas Tech University alumni Trump administration cabinet members United States Secretaries of Health and Human Services University of Texas Medical Branch alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Ambassadors of the United States to Tanzania

Education

Career

See also

References

External links