Joseph Wright Twinam (July 11, 1934 – June 12, 2001) was an American diplomat with a focus on the Middle East.
He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern & South Asian Affairs, from 1979 to 1982.
He then served three years as dean of the Foreign Service Institute & as diplomat-in-residence at the University of Virginia (UVA), finally retiring from the State Department in 1985.
He subsequently was a distinguished visiting professor at the Citadel for eight years, and an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University from 1998 to 1999.
He died in Charleston, South Carolina from injuries sustained in a fall.