Joanne Herring facts for kids

Joanne King Herring (born July 3, 1929) is an American woman known for many things. She has been a businesswoman, a political activist, and a helper of others (philanthropist). She also worked as a diplomat and hosted a television talk show.

Joanne King Herring is from Houston, Texas. She is most famous for helping to shape political decisions. This happened through her long friendship and work with President of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq, who was president from 1977 to 1988. She also served as an honorary consul for Pakistan in Houston. This means she helped represent Pakistan's interests there. President Zia-ul-Haq personally asked for her to receive the Jinnah Medal. This is one of Pakistan's highest honors.

In the 1980s, Herring worked to get the United States to support the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. These were groups fighting against Soviet influence. She worked with U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson on this effort. Their story inspired a book called Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. Later, a movie called Charlie Wilson's War was made in 2007, where actress Julia Roberts played Joanne Herring. After the September 11 attacks, Herring said that she "did not make al-Qaeda" and that she "cannot predict the future." Her second book, Diplomacy and Diamonds: My Wars from the Ballroom to the Battlefield, came out in 2011.

Early Life and Career

Joanne Johnson was born in Houston. Her parents were Maelan McGill and William Dunlap Johnson. She grew up in a wealthy neighborhood called River Oaks. As a child, she knew James A. Baker, III, who later became a very important U.S. government official.

She went to the University of Texas at Austin. However, she left college after her second year. She then married Robert King, who worked in real estate. Joanne became well-known in Houston's social scene. In the late 1950s, she started hosting her own daytime talk show. It was called The Joanne King Show and aired on Houston's KHOU-TV station. By 1974, her show had moved to KPRC.

Joanne Herring in Media

Joanne Herring has appeared as herself in a few films and TV shows. She was in the 1999 documentary Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me. This film was about a Houston businessman who married five times. In the movie, Herring jokingly introduced herself by saying she had "almost as many husbands as he's had wives." She also appeared on the German TV news series V.I.P.-Schaukel in the 1970s. More recently, Herring has appeared on CNN with Ali Velshi. She discussed America's continued involvement in Afghanistan during these appearances.

Helping Others: Marshall Plan Charities

In 2009, Joanne Herring started an organization called Marshall Plan Charities. This group aims to help Afghanistan by rebuilding normal life in villages. It works alongside the U.S. military efforts there. The organization brings together different non-profit groups. Their goal is to provide villages with important things like clean water, food, healthcare, schools, and jobs.

Working with President Zia-ul-Haq

Joanne Herring is very well known for her long connection with President of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq. Their connection began in the early 1970s. At that time, Zia was a brigadier-general leading Pakistani military groups in Jordan. In 1980, President Zia held a special dinner in honor of Joanne and Robert Herring in Islamabad.

Herring reportedly supported Zia's actions regarding the former prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She wrote that Bhutto "was tried by his own judges and convicted of murder." She explained that the Koran, which is like Pakistan's unofficial constitution, demands "an eye for an eye." This means if you murder, you must die. Herring stated that Zia only followed the law by not changing Bhutto's sentence.

In the book Charlie Wilson's War, it says that Herring was a very trusted American advisor to President Zia. It was Joanne Herring who introduced Charlie Wilson to President Zia. This meeting later helped secure a lot of money for Pakistan's efforts against communism.

Over time, Herring's influence on President Zia grew. He was so impressed with her that he would even stop important government meetings to take her phone calls. The Foreign Minister, Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, later said, "She absolutely had his ear, it was terrible!" Zia even broke official rules by making her his honorary consul for Pakistan in Houston. This upset the Foreign Office. In a public ceremony in Pakistan, Zia personally gave her Pakistan's highest civilian honor, the Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam, also known as the Jinnah Medal. She wrote about her respect for Zia in her 2011 autobiography.

Husain Haqqani, who was once Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, described Herring as "known more for glamour than for political wisdom." He said Zia "showered her with hospitality to use her connections." Haqqani also noted that Herring seemed to know "little about the country." He criticized her for incorrectly calling Pakistan an "Arab nation" in her book.

Awards and Honors

Joanne King Herring has received many awards and honors throughout her life:

• She received the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge Award in the 1960s.
• The King of Belgium made her a Knight in the 1970s.
• In the 1980s, she was made a roaming Ambassador of Pakistan. She also received the Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Pakistan's highest honor.
• She received the International Women's Forum "Women Who Make a Difference" Award in 1987.
• In 2011, she was made a Dame in the Royal Order of Francis I.
• She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.

See also

In Spanish: Joanne Herring para niños

• Cynthia D. Ritchie
• General Rani
• Inter-Services Intelligence