History of The Loret Miller Ruppe Ambassador for Peace Award



History of The Loret Miller Ruppe
Ambassador for Peace Award

The award bears the name of a woman who dedicated much of her life to the cause of peace, Loret Miller Ruppe. Mrs. Ruppe, who served longer as Director of the Peace Corps than any director in the Corps history, also spent 4 years as Ambassador to Norway. Mrs. Ruppe is widely credited with salvaging the Peace Corps at a time when there was government agitation to downsize it. At the time of her death in August, 1996, Ambassador Ruppe was serving in her last post for peace as Vice President of The Mary Anne Foundation.

The purpose of the award is to tap into the original and creative thinking of the young, regarding the issues of conflict resolution, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is hoped that fostering the search for peace as children will inculcate a lifelong quest, thus developing a generation of peacemakers skilled in the prevention of war and dedicated to using those skills to build a world of genuine peace; a goal Ambassador Ruppe so ardently worked to achieve.