Swanee Grace Hunt (born May 1, 1950) is an American writer, academic, and former diplomat. Hunt is a lecturer in public policy at

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

and was the founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School. From 1993 to 1997, she served as

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She is a recipient of the PEN/New England Award for non-fiction.

Early life

Hunt was born May 1, 1950 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, the youngest of four children born to the oil tycoon H.L. Hunt and Ruth Ray. However, not until her father's first wife died did Swanee Hunt's parents marry in 1957 and it was only then that she and her siblings moved into the Hunt mansion, built to resemble its namesake,

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. Hunt grew up in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, where she attended the Hockaday School. She lived for many years in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, where she was active in many community and philanthropic activities. Her several siblings include sisters

Helen LaKelly Hunt Helen LaKelly Hunt (born February 1949) is an American activist and writer. The daughter of H. L. Hunt, she grew up in Dallas, Texas. She holds earned and honorary degrees from Union Theological Seminary (NY) and Southern Methodist University. ...

and

June Hunt June Hunt (born Ruth June Hunt, December 31, 1944) is Founder and CSO (Chief Servant Officer) of Hope for the Heart, the nonprofit Christian ministry she founded in 1986. Hunt is the author of the ''Biblical Counseling Library,'' a 100-volume ...

Education

While Hunt had hoped to attend college in the east, her ultra-conservative father refused, so Hunt began college in her hometown at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

. Hunt earned her BA in philosophy from

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

, an MA in psychology from Ball State University, and an MA in religion and a doctorate in theology from

Iliff School of Theology Iliff School of Theology is a graduate Methodist theological school in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1892, the school's campus is adjacent to the University of Denver. Fewer than 200 students attend the school. Iliff is one of thirteen United ...

Career

Hunt was appointed in 1993 as ambassador to Austria, where she was notable for writing a weekly newspaper column and radio program. In 1997, Hunt helped establish the Women and Public Policy Program at

. Since stepping down as Director of the Program in 2008, she has continued on at the Kennedy School as the Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy.

Personal life

At age 20, Hunt married Mark Meeks, a seminary student. Hunt gave birth to daughter Lillian in 1982, and the marriage dissolved soon after. In 1985, Hunt married conductor Charles Ansbacher, who died on September 12, 2010. She has three children, among them filmmaker Henry Ansbacher, and three grandchildren.

Books

Her book ''This Was Not Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace'' won the 2005 PEN/New England Award for non-fiction and includes a foreword by former president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. * * * *

References

External links

* *
Swanee Hunt papers
at the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...

, Smith College Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Swanee 1950 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Austria Hunt family Harvard Kennedy School faculty People from Dallas Texas Christian University alumni Ball State University alumni Hockaday School alumni American women ambassadors