Allan Wright (farmer)

Sir Allan Frederick Wright (born 29 March 1929) is a New Zealand farming leader and businessman. He was president of Federated Farmers between 1977 and 1981, and served as the first chancellor of Lincoln University.
Early life and family.
Born in Darfield on 29 March 1929, Wright was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. On 22 January 1953, he married Dorothy June Netting, and the couple went on to have five children.
Career.
Wright started farming a mixed arable farm near Sheffield in 1946. He joined the Sheffield Young Farmers' Club in 1949, and went on to serve as the national president of Young Farmers' Clubs in 1958. In 1973, Wright won the A. C. Cameron Royal Agricultural Society gold medal for excellence in farming.
Active in the North Canterbury branch of Federated Farmers, Wright served as chairman of the meat and wool section from 1967 to 1971, and president between 1971 and 1974. At a national level, he was senior vice chairman of the meat and wool section of Federated Farmers from 1971 to 1972, junior vice president in 1973, senior vice president from 1974 to 1976, and president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand between 1977 and 1981. In the 1982 New Year Honours, Wright was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his service as president of Federated Farmers.
Wright was appointed as a government representative on the Lincoln College Council in 1973, and became chair of the council in 1986. When Lincoln gained full autonomy as a university at the beginning of 1990, Wright became the inaugural chancellor of the university, serving in that role until 1994. His term as chairman and chancellor was characterised by significant roll growth and an increasing diversity in courses offered at Lincoln, with a consensus leadership style.
Wright has held many governance roles in business and sports. He was director of companies including Southpower, Alliance Textiles, New Zealand Rail, the Rural Bank, and FMG Insurance, and also served as president of the North Canterbury Cricket Association and as a member of the New Zealand Cricket Council.