John Warlick McDonald

John Warlick McDonald (1922–2019) was an American diplomat born in Koblenz, Germany, to a U.S. military father. He earned a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and graduated from the National War College in 1967. McDonald entered the U.S. Foreign Service after his law degree.

He served as deputy director general of the International Labour Organization from 1974 to 1978 and was appointed ambassador twice by Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan for United Nations World Conferences. McDonald co-founded Global Water in the 1990s and founded the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD) in 1998, promoting diplomacy beyond traditional state-to-state methods, including business, religious, academic, peace-building, and philanthropic efforts.

IMTD engaged in peace-building activities such as a soccer tour in Kashmir, water agreements between hostile states, conflict resolution training, and reconciliation work worldwide. McDonald worked tirelessly into his nineties from offices in Arlington, Virginia.

In his personal life, McDonald married Barbara Stewart in 1943, and they had four children, including Lynn, and six grandchildren, one of whom is Ben Wikler.

Awards include a 1994 Nobel Peace Prize nomination and the 2009 Peacemaker Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution. He received honorary degrees from Salisbury University, St. John's University, Teikyo University, and Mount Mercy University.