Ralph G. Wright (June 10, 1935 – June 17, 2026) was an American teacher and politician who served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Early life and education Ralph George Wright was born in Arlington, Massachusetts on June 10, 1935, a son of Ralph H. Wright and Mary E. Wright. He was raised in Lexington and Somerville and left Somerville High School in 1953 to join the United States Marine Corps. Trained as a motor transport operator, he served as a military police officer with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing during the Korean War and left the marines as a private first class in 1955.
After his military service, Wright worked for the Raytheon Corporation in Newton, Massachusetts while attending Boston University, and he graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1963, he received a Master of Education degree from Framingham State Teachers College (now Framingham State University).
Career
After college, Wright taught and coached at Ashland High School, where he remained for three years. In 1965, he accepted a position as principal of the high school in Newbury, Vermont. In 1966, he became assistant headmaster at St. Johnsbury Academy. In 1967, he was appointed as an assistant professor at Lyndon State College. Wright moved to Bennington, Vermont, in 1968 and was a teacher and director of an alternative education program for troubled teens.The Vermont Encyclopedia, by John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand and Ralph H. Orth, 2003, page 330American Legislative Leaders in the Northeast, 1911-1994, by James Roger Sharp and Nancy Weatherly Sharp, 2000, page 230
A Democrat, Wright served in local offices in Bennington during the 1960s and 1970s, including selectman. In 1978 he won election to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he served from 1979 to 1995. From 1983 to 1985 Wright was the House Minority Leader., Vermont State Archives, State Representative/Speaker of the House Ralph G. Wright Collection, undated, page 1
In 1985 Wright was elected Speaker of the House, a victory remarkable for the fact that Republicans were in the majority., Michael Kranish and Globe Staff, Boston Globe, January 13, 1985Democrats Will Nominate Candidate to Powerful Speaker Post, Bob Kinzel, Vermont Public Radio, December 3, 2008
Serving as Speaker for 10 years, Wright's candidate recruiting and campaign support work, carried out in conjunction with other Democrats including Representative Paul N. Poirier, who became the House majority leader, saw Democrats become the majority party in the House during Wright's final term.Legislative Leadership in the American States, Malcolm Edwin Jewell and Marcia Lynn Whicker, 1994, page 137
Wright was defeated for reelection to the House in the Republican sweep of 1994.Vermont Reelects Governor, Associated Press, published in Lewiston Sun Journal, November 9, 1994
At 10 years, Ralph Wright's term remains the longest of any Vermont Speaker of the House.
Later life and death After leaving the Vermont House, Wright worked briefly as a lobbyist before accepting a position as Special Assistant to the United States Secretary of Education, based in the Boston, Massachusetts regional office.Inside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speaker, by Ralph G. Wright, 2005, pages 229 to 230
Wright also authored a memoir, 1996's All Politics Is Personal.All Politics Is Personal, by Ralph G. Wright, 1996, title page
In 2000 Wright retired and relocated to Florida. He authored another book, 2005's Inside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speaker and was an adjunct professor at Lake-Sumter State College.Inside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speaker, by Ralph G. Wright, 2005, title page and author's biography on back cover Wright died in Lady Lake, Florida on June 17, 2026, at the age of 91.Ralph Wright, 'revered and feared' longest-serving Vermont House speaker, dies at 91
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