Loret Miller Ruppe

Audrey Loret Miller Ruppe (January 3, 1936 – August 6, 1996) was a Director of the Peace Corps and U.S. Ambassador to Norway. She was the wife of United States House of Representatives member Philip Ruppe of Michigan.

Early life Loret Miller was born January 3, 1936, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her great-grandfather, Frederick Miller, founded the Miller Brewing Company. Her father, Frederick C. Miller, was the company chairman. Her father was killed in a plane crash with his oldest son, her brother, in 1954. Ruppe attended Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, and Marquette University in Milwaukee. Ruppe said after her nomination "I have had a great interest in the Peace Corps and I'm very thrilled and excited about the nomination." Ruppe also stated her belief in the continuing relevance of the Peace Corps. Matters came to a head in March, 1981 when Reagan appointed Tom Pauken to be director of Action.

Ruppe publicly took the position that there was no need for the agency to be more independent than it already was under Action.

On June 20, 1981, the Peace Corps celebrated its twentieth anniversary and thousands of returned volunteers came to Howard University Washington, DC, to celebrate. Ruppe was successful in restoring the cuts.

Support from Reagan Ruppe was eventually able to convince Ronald Reagan, originally a skeptic of the Peace Corps, that the agency had value. In 1981, Ruppe appointed ten country directors who had been selected by the Carter Administration over White House objections.

Appeal for volunteers in Africa On January 15, 1985, Ruppe issued a nationwide appeal for 600 volunteers to begin famine relief and agricultural work in Mali, Zaire, Lesotho and Niger. This effort was known as the African Food Systems Initiative (AFSI)and the Peace Corps domestic recruitment strategy was refocused on American farmers, who responded positively to some extent. The initiative's logo was the Peace Corps dove of peace, carrying a sheaf of wheat.

Other accomplishments While Ruppe was director, the Peace Corps began or resumed programs in seven countries: Sri Lanka, Haiti, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands. Ruppe also started the African Food Initiative, Women In Development, and the Leadership for Peace Campaign.

Personal life A resident of Bethesda, Maryland, Ruppe died of ovarian cancer on August 6, 1996.

Honors and awards On September 5, 1996, United States Senate member of Connecticut Chris Dodd who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, honored Ruppe with a speech on the floor of the Senate: "When President Reagan appointed her in 1981, the Peace Corps budget was rapidly declining and was less than that of the military marching bands. By the end of Mrs. Ruppe's tenure she had succeeded in increasing the agency's budget almost 50 percent. In addition to budgetary challenges, Mrs. Ruppe gave the agency a political facelift by projecting the agency as non-partisan, despite the fact that she herself was a political appointee, and increasing its viability on both national and local levels. As she noted 'We took Peace Corps out of the pit of politics and made it non-partisan. It must always signify Americans pulling together for peace.' As a result of her efforts, Mrs. Ruppe was respected and admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. In terms of national visibility, she brought much needed congressional and executive level attention to the Peace Corps. Prior to her leadership the organization was nicknamed 'the corpse' and many believed its end was near. Under her command however, the organization was revitalized and its future secured. On a local level, she worked hard to increase young Americans' interest in participating in the program. By 1989, she had raised the number of volunteers by 20 percent."

On October 4, 1996, Michigan Technological University dedicated the new Master's International Program in Forestry to Ruppe. In 2002 Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, dedicated the Loret Ruppe International Student Scholarships to honor the late Loret Miller Ruppe, former director of the Peace Corps and U.S. Ambassador to Norway, whose conviction was that "peace work needs to be everybody's work". The Mary Anne Foundation dedicated the Loret Miller Ruppe Ambassador for Peace Award "to tap into the original and creative thinking of the young, regarding the issues of conflict resolution, forgiveness and reconciliation." The National Peace Corps Association makes an annual Loret Miller Ruppe Award for Outstanding Community Service to a member group for a project that promote the Third Goal of Peace Corps.