Swanee Hunt
Encyclopedia
Swanee Grace Hunt Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, is the founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at the Kennedy School, and former United States Ambassador
to Austria
.
A daughter of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt
, she grew up in Dallas, Texas
and then lived in Denver, Colorado
for many years, where she was active in many community and philanthropic activities. She has a BA in philosophy, two master's degrees, and a doctorate in theology. Hunt is also an expert on women in politics, having conducted research, training, and consultations with women leaders in some 60 countries. She is the chair of the Washington-based Institute for Inclusive Security (including the Women Waging Peace Network) which advocates integrating women into peace processes.
In 1981, she co-founded Hunt Alternatives Fund
with her sister Helen. The Fund is focused on strengthening youth arts organizations, supporting leaders of social movements, combating human trafficking, and increasing philanthropy. Based in Denver until 1997, the Fund was relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1997, when Hunt founded WAPPP at Harvard University
. She has also lectured at Harvard's business, law, divinity and education graduate schools.
Swanee Hunt was appointed as ambassador to Austria in 1993, where she was notable for writing a weekly newspaper column and radio program. She also organized women's conferences in Bosnia
and otherwise worked to secure peace in the former Yugoslavia
.
Hunt is active in Democratic politics and, in addition to fundraising events for candidates, she recently convened Unconventional Women, a six-hour program featuring more than 20 female political leaders for an audience of 3000 in Denver during the Democratic National Convention
.
In 2001, she received the Community of Christ International Peace Award
. In April 2007 she was the keynote speaker at the Association of Junior Leagues International Annual Conference. In October 2007, she joined her sister Helen LaKelly Hunt
as an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame
. She is also a photographer and her photographs have been exhibited in more than a dozen one-woman shows; her musical composition, The Witness Cantata has been performed in six cities.
She was married to the conductor Charles Ansbacher
, who died on September 12, 2010. They have three children, among them filmmaker Henry Ansbacher, and three grandchildren.
Ambassadors from the United States
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...
to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
A daughter of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. , known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was a Texas oil tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very...
, she grew up in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and then lived in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
for many years, where she was active in many community and philanthropic activities. She has a BA in philosophy, two master's degrees, and a doctorate in theology. Hunt is also an expert on women in politics, having conducted research, training, and consultations with women leaders in some 60 countries. She is the chair of the Washington-based Institute for Inclusive Security (including the Women Waging Peace Network) which advocates integrating women into peace processes.
In 1981, she co-founded Hunt Alternatives Fund
Hunt Alternatives Fund
Hunt Alternatives Fund is a private family foundation located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by sisters Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt in 1981, the Fund has contributed more than $80 million to social change worldwide....
with her sister Helen. The Fund is focused on strengthening youth arts organizations, supporting leaders of social movements, combating human trafficking, and increasing philanthropy. Based in Denver until 1997, the Fund was relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1997, when Hunt founded WAPPP at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She has also lectured at Harvard's business, law, divinity and education graduate schools.
Swanee Hunt was appointed as ambassador to Austria in 1993, where she was notable for writing a weekly newspaper column and radio program. She also organized women's conferences in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and otherwise worked to secure peace in the former Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
.
Hunt is active in Democratic politics and, in addition to fundraising events for candidates, she recently convened Unconventional Women, a six-hour program featuring more than 20 female political leaders for an audience of 3000 in Denver during the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
.
In 2001, she received the Community of Christ International Peace Award
Community of Christ International Peace Award
The Community of Christ International Peace Award was established to honor and bring attention to the work of peacemaking and peacemakers in the world...
. In April 2007 she was the keynote speaker at the Association of Junior Leagues International Annual Conference. In October 2007, she joined her sister Helen LaKelly Hunt
Helen LaKelly Hunt
Helen LaKelly Hunt is a daughter of H. L. Hunt. She is founder and president of The Sister Fund, which describes itself as "a private women's fund dedicated to the social, political, economic, and spiritual empowerment of women and girls."...
as an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame is an American institution. It was created in 1969 by a group of people in Seneca Falls, New York, the location of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention...
. She is also a photographer and her photographs have been exhibited in more than a dozen one-woman shows; her musical composition, The Witness Cantata has been performed in six cities.
She was married to the conductor Charles Ansbacher
Charles Ansbacher
Charles Ansbacher was an American conductor. After undergraduate and graduate work at Brown University and the University of Cincinnati , he studied conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria...
, who died on September 12, 2010. They have three children, among them filmmaker Henry Ansbacher, and three grandchildren.
Books
- This Was Not Our War (2001). ISBN 978-0-8223-3355-5
- Half-Life of a Zealot (2006). ISBN 978-0-8223-3875-8