Francis Martin O'Donnell

Francis Martin O'Donnell, KC*SG, KM, KCHS, KCMCO, (born in 1954) served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Slovak Republic from December 2009 to March 2013. He previously served as a United Nations official for 32 years, most recently as the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system in Ukraine, from 30 September 2004 until 31 March 2009, and previously in the same capacity in Serbia-Montenegro. In early 2012, he was appointed to the Council of the Order of Clans of Ireland, and in due course to its Executive Board, under the patronage of the President of Ireland.

Background
He was born in 1954 in Dublin, Ireland, son of Patrick Denis O'Donnell, who served briefly as a United Nations military observer with UNTSO, the oldest UN peace-keeping operation in the world.

Education
Schooled in Jerusalem (Collège des Frères) and Dublin (St. Vincent's C.B.S., Glasnevin). An honours graduate in Economics and Philosophy from the National University of Ireland at University College Dublin, O'Donnell read International Law and Diplomacy at postgraduate level in Geneva, and qualified in Disaster Management at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In the summer of 1997, he was the subject of a two-page feature as a successful graduate in the inaugural summer 1997 issue of "UCD Connections" (University College Dublin, his alma-mater), and more recently in the CoRD magazine in Belgrade.

UN career
Since 1976, when he started as a United Nations Volunteer in Sudan, he has also served the UN in Lesotho, Mauritania, Niger, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States of America, and recently in Serbia & Montenegro. He also undertook missions in over 40 other countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.

At the end of the Cold War, he was requested in late 1991 to launch a rapid response capability for deploying UN Volunteers (UNV) to UN emergency operations worldwide. He overhauled recruitment methods, and oversaw the rapid deployment of thousands of UN volunteers to crisis zones, where they became the front-line link between relief and aid delivery agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, UNDP, and WHO and suffering war victims, refugees and internal displacees. The effort saved lives during the years 1992–1994 in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and other war-torn countries during the inter-ethnic wars that succeeded the Cold War's proxy conflicts. True life stories from the field featured in Volunteers Against Conflict, a book praised by former presidents Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, Jimmy Carter, and Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum. This book was written by volunteers recruited under O'Donnell's leadership of the Humanitarian Relief Unit of UNV. Later based in Turkey, he helped assure the humanitarian corridor through Turkey into northern Iraq after the first Gulf War from 1994–1996, and coordinated earthquake relief in Turkey itself. Subsequently he held a senior emergency management role in UNDP headquarters in New York, and later led a systemic governance team for crisis countries, developing a new policy approach to tackle root causes for preventing crisis in vulnerable countries.

In 2000, he led UN/UNDP missions that helped Sergio Vieira de Mello lay the foundations for public administration capacity in East Timor before independence. He organised a workshop with the Timorese leadership on 1 March 2000, that re-designed the UN administration in East Timor, leading to a reform of the UN mission by the Security Council. O'Donnell organised the joint workshop between UNTAET and the Timorese leadership, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), on 1 March 2000 to tease out a new strategy, and identify institutional needs. The Timorese delegation was led by Jose Ramos Horta. The outcome was an agreed blueprint for a joint administration with executive powers, including leaders of the CNRT. Further details were worked out in a conference in May 2000. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in East Timor, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, presented the new blueprint to a donor conference in Lisbon, on 22 June 2000, and to the UN Security Council on 27 June 2000. On 12 July 2000, the NCC adopted a regulation establishing a Transitional Cabinet composed of four East Timorese and four UNTAET representatives. The revamped joint administration constructed the institutional foundations for independence. On 27 September 2002 East Timor joined the United Nations.

On 13 October 2000, O'Donnell arrived in Belgrade in the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. There, as UNDP representative, he supported the new democratic forces in bringing stability to the remnant of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), preventing nascent conflict with marginalised ethnic Albanians in the Preševo Valley of southern Serbia, launching reintegration programmes, promoting human rights, and supporting reform of governance institutions,  and supporting civil society. In 2002, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Resident Coordinator of the UN system, and appointed by UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown as Resident Representative of the UNDP in Yugoslavia/Serbia-Montenegro, and later again in Ukraine in October 2004, just before the so-called Orange Revolution. Following the Belgrade Agreement (2002) brokered by Javier Solana that restructured the remnant federal republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) into a looser state union of Serbia and Montenegro, O'Donnell held consultations with the president of the federal government of Yugoslavia and leaders of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and organised a Strategic Roundtable on Governance Transition in Belgrade, featuring most of the signatories of the Belgrade Agreement, international experts on transition, and a large representation of government officials and the international community. It was the first major public forum bringing together important political players to air crucial constitutional issues. He also contributed to housing sector policy in south-east Europe.

He presented his credentials to the President of Ukraine on 16 November 2004. As Resident Coordinator, he was the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General and lead the UN Country Team of UN agencies and related bodies and was primus inter pares amongst several such accredited UN system chefs de mission diplomatique. The 2007 Ukrainian political crisis, which lasted from April to June 2007 was part of political stand off between coalition and opposition factions of Verkhovna Rada that led to the unscheduled Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007, and started on 2 April 2007 as a culmination of long lasting crisis and degradation of the parliamentary coalition when the President of Ukraine (Viktor Yushchenko) attempted to dissolve the parliament. The following day, in light of impending political unrest, O'Donnell as United Nations Resident Coordinator, and following an earlier call to deepen democracy and liberalise the economy, exceptionally issued an advisory statement of principles on behalf of the Country Team (followed by a visit by former Estonian President Arnold Rüütel on 23 April.

O'Donnell called for greater awareness of the Holocaust and active tolerance and decried discrimination against Jews, Muslims, migrants and minorities in many countries. He was also instrumental in tackling racism and xenophobia in Ukraine, by taking the leadership in organising regular consultations and meetings with the representatives of diplomatic missions and international organisations and jointly bringing this issue to the attention of Government. An ambassadorial working group was formed and a Diversity Initiative, a co-ordination group under the leadership of the IOM and UNHCR, was established to provide a forum for anti-discrimination policies – with the overall objective to create a consolidated response to racism and xenophobia in Ukraine. As a result of concerted efforts, the Government stepped up its response to this challenge; an official repudiation of racism by President Viktor Yuschenko issued; the Government adopted an Action Plan on Counteraction to Racism; and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) established a special unit to counteract xenophobia and intolerance. Policy advice was provided and best practices from European countries was shared with Government. There was a wide-scale information campaign, including broadcasting of public service announcements.

Simultaneously serving as UNDP resident representative in Ukraine, O'Donnell also oversaw the establishment and implementation of the large EU Border Assistance Mission between Moldova and Ukraine, which brought about substantial improvements in border management, including a curtailing of human trafficking, illicit weapons and other contraband smuggling, and corruption. The EUBAM mission remains implemented by UNDP and funded by the European Commission. He also coordinated UNDP co-operation under the BUMAD programme with Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, to reduce illicit drug traffic. O'Donnell drew attention to the negative impact of endemic corruption in Ukraine, on co-operation with its development partners. He also launched a major programme for women's and children's rights, in collaboration with the EC, Council of Europe, and ILO.

The First Lady of Ukraine, Kateryna Yushchenko, in her farewell, thanked Mr. O'Donnell for his work in Ukraine and co-operation with her Ukraine 3000 Foundation. She credited him that UN institutions repeatedly rendered support to the Foundation's initiatives related to education and culture. Also in 2007, the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation joined the United Nations Global Compact.

Ambassadorship
On completion of O'Donnell's three years' mission as Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Slovak Republic, the Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák emphasised Ambassador O'Donnell's special contribution to developing bilateral relations and appreciated the charitable and social activities of the Volunteers Corps of Order of Malta in the Slovak Republic in favour of endangered and marginalised groups of people. Under O'Donnell's leadership, the Volunteers Corps of Order of Malta expanded its activities country-wide in favour of children in orphanages, single and abused mothers, homeless people and other people living below the poverty line, and it also supports the modernisation of health-care facilities, as well as projects focused on the integration of Roma children. O'Donnell was awarded the Golden Medal of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic by Deputy Prime Minister Lajčák on 1 March 2013. The award was made in recognition of his personal contribution to the development of relations between the Slovak Republic and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.

Clans of Ireland
O'Donnell is a board member of Clans of Ireland, the independent permanent authority established in 1989 to authenticate and register Irish Clans and historical families, under the patronage of the President of Ireland, and also serves on the Council of its Order of Merit. As delegate of the Clan O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, he represented his Clan in 2012 and 2013 in the annual Parade of Clans at the Mansion House, Dublin. He was a keynote speaker at the O'Donnell Clan Gathering of 5–9 August 2013 in Donegal, and presented research on the topic of the Ardfert expedition of 1601, as well as on a branch of O'Donnells who were Counts in France until extinct in 1879. In May 2013, on the occasion of the repatriation of the remains of the last reigning royal family of Yugoslavia, accorded a State Funeral by Serbia, O'Donnell laid a wreath at the cask of the late King Peter II of Yugoslavia, in his capacity as delegate of the Clans of Ireland and on behalf of Ireland's ancient royal and noble clans and historic families

Public life
Since the early 1990s, O'Donnell was actively involved in promoting global peace services and inter-faith dialogue, with World Peacemakers (see ) and the United States Agency for International Development, Global Alliance of Peace Services, the Life and Peace Institute (see ), the Swedish Christian Council, Pax Christi, International Alert, and others.

He has also addressed public and expert audiences, and delivered keynote addresses at several international conferences. He delivered an address (see ) to the XXII International Congress on the Family in Kiev, Ukraine (see ), and more recently was guest speaker at the Conference for Young Christian Professionals held in Rome on 28–30 November 2008, where he addressed the subject of Leadership Challenges in the Service of Society. The conference was targeted at "socially active young people, those who are not afraid to discuss the challenges and problems of modern life and who would like to find solutions in the spirit of Pope John Paul II's call to 'build a civilisation of love', i.e. young people between the ages of 25–35, in particular the peers of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II." Several of his papers have been published and he contributed chapters to several published works on peace and governance issues.

O'Donnell appeared on national TV and radio programmes in several developing countries and in France, Italy, Turkey, as well as on Irish RTE, UK Radio-4 (see ), KRTV (see ) and FOX NEWS (US) (see ), and on the BBC and CNN, Serbian and Montenegrin TV channels (RTS, B92, Beta), and Ukrainian TV as well as in various print media.

Other interests
The initiative to create an Irish-Arab Society was proposed by O'Donnell in November 1968, and taken up by a group of Irish and Arab friends. It was the principal advocate of the Palestinian cause in Ireland during the 1970s and the 1980s. It played a key advisory and facilitative role in promoting Irish-Arab trade and cultural links, and with its support diplomatic relations were established with 12 states in the Middle East and North Africa between 1974 and 1976.

At the invitation of the Irish Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Foreign Minister in early 1995, he contributed towards the first White Paper on Irish Foreign Policy (see ). His monograph is lodged in the National Archives of Ireland, and acknowledged in the published White Paper (1996). He is member of the Institute of International and European Affairs (see ). His analysis of the historical evolution of the law affecting incorporeal hereditaments as elements of intangible cultural heritage (see ) has also been acknowledged by the Irish Law Reform Commission during its consideration of the repeal of 150 statutes going back to 1285 (see ). Since 2006, the consequent Bill on Land Reform & Conveyancing has progressed in the Oireachtas, and been adopted into law, as the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act, Number 27 of 2009. He retains incorporeal hereditaments from his late father.

Honours

 * Ambassador O'Donnell was awarded the Golden Medal by Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic on 1 March 2013, in recognition of enhanced bilateral relations during the period 2009–2013, and expanded activities in social work, palliative care, disability and health, and a new programme for integration of Roma children into the education system.


 * On his departure from Ukraine, the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Ukraine, Ms. Nina Karpachova also bestowed the Ombudsman's Medal of Honour on O'Donnell for his defence of human rights in that country


 * O'Donnell holds the Cross of Honour of Jerusalem, bestowed on him by the Custodia Franciscalis Terra Sanctae in 1965.


 * He was decreed into the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, by decree 1566/ON of 10 November 2007, by virtue of which Pope Benedict XVI conferred on him the dignity of papal Knight Commander with Silver Star, a dignity assumed upon his retirement from the UN.


 * He was invested into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Irish Lieutenancy, by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland on 22–23 July 2011.


 * House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: He is also a Knight Commander of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, which shares motto: In Hoc Signo Vinces, inscribed on his coat of arms the main motif of which is a cross-crosslet.


 * O'Donnell is also a Knight of Malta (member of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta), and has been accredited as the Order's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Slovak Republic.

Published works

 * Meeting the Humanitarian Challenge – Between Conflict and Development, foreword by Brenda McSweeney, Executive Coordinator (edited by Maria Keating); 43-page booklet published by United Nations Volunteers, Geneva, 1995.


 * Third Party Civilian Peace Processes in Conflict Situations, second chapter (pp. 11–24) in Civil Intervention – The Role of NGOs in Conflict Prevention, published by Pax Christi International, Brussels, 1995.


 * International Cooperation for Drug Control, article published in Turkish Daily News, Ankara, 30 June 1995.


 * Tolerance: Respecting Diversity in a Complex World, pp. 25–38, second chapter of 258-page book Uluslararasi Hosgoru Kongresi – International Congress on Tolerance BILDIRILER published by Ministry of Culture, Turkey, in November 1995..


 * Tomorrow's Turkey Today – The Ankara Roundtable on Human Sustainability, (163 pages), contribution in pp. 119–122 on the linkage between global governance and local environmental management, published by Indigenous Development International, Cambridge, UK, in 1996 (ISBN 1-900164-01-9).


 * Some Foreign Policy Options for Ireland (40-page monograph submitted by invitation for consideration by the Government of Ireland in the preparation of a White Paper on Foreign Policy presented to Dáil, Irish Parliament in 1996), Ankara, May 1995. The monograph has been subsequently lodged by the Government of Ireland in the National Archives.


 * A Day in the Life, published in UCD Connections, worldwide magazine of University College Dublin Alumni, inaugural issue no.1 (ISSN 0791-8747), Dublin, Spring/Summer 1997.


 * Wealth of Dignity, Poverty of Destiny – article published in O'Domhnaill Abu, Newsletter no. 32, Summer 2004 of the Clan Association of the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell (ISSN 0790-7389).


 * Global Stability through Multilateralism – Why a strong United Nations is essential to defend freedom and ensure prosperity, published (pp 11–15 in Ukrainian, and 16–19 in English) in Memory of Centuries: Ukraine in the UN – 60th anniversary, published by the General Directorate for Rendering Services to the Diplomatic Missions [chief editor: Stanislav Nikolayenko], issue no.5 (56) 2005,

Policy monographs

 * The Concept and Promotion of Global Peace Service, paper presented as invited Guest Speaker at the "Global Peace Service" Conference at the Church Center for the United Nations, U.N. Plaza, New York, November 1993.


 * Humanitarian Access and the Opportunity for Building-up Peace from the Grassroots, paper presented upon invitation to international seminar on "Towards a Global Alliance of Peace Services", held by the Christian Council of Sweden, and Life & Peace Institute, at Stensnas, Stockholm, Sweden, May 1994.


 * Conflict Prevention, Response, and Post-Conflict Recovery, paper presented at meeting with European Commission (DG VIII), Brussels, November 1997.


 * Foundations for Governance and Public Administration in East Timor, basic framework for initial capacity building in East Timor, according to the late SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, who endorsed and presented it to Lisbon Donors Conference, on 21 June 2000, and reported it to the UN Security Council on 27 June 2000.

Other references/citations

 * Towards a Global Alliance of Peace Services, published by Life and Peace Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, 1994 (co-funded by SIDA and Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs). (one of several contributors).


 * Seeds of Peace, Harvest for Life by Sr. Mary Evelyn Jegen, SND (Abbey Press, St. Meinrad, Indiana, US, 1994). O'Donnell's contributions quoted and acknowledged in Chapters 2 and 13.


 * Keeping the Peace: Exploring civilian alternatives in conflict prevention (132 pages), by Lisa Schirch, published by Life & Peace Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, October 1995 (ISBN 91-87748-26-6).


 * Challenges and Opportunities Abroad – The White Paper on Foreign Policy (348 pages), published by the Government of Ireland (Department of Foreign Affairs) in April 1996 (ISBN 0-7076-2385-5). His contribution acknowledged in list of contributors.


 * Volunteers Against Conflict (ISBN 92-808-0923-7), published in 1996 by United Nations University and United Nations Volunteers, a collaborative effort with the Humanitarianism and War Project of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies, Brown University (US). The book includes firsthand accounts of UN volunteers deployed by O’Donnell in Cambodia, South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda, ex-Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Presidents Mary Robinson (Ireland), Nelson Mandela (South Africa), and Jimmy Carter (US), all endorsed the book. Book project initiated by O’Donnell.


 * Patterns of Partnership: UN Peacekeeping and Peoples’ Peacebuilding by Tatsuro Kunugi, Elise Boulding, & Jan Oberg, published by The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, Sweden, 1996. O’Donnell’s work cited.


 * Irishman heads UN programme in Belgrade, by Deaglán de Bréadún, Irish Times, Dublin, 13 October 2000.


 * The United Nations Development Programme – A Better Way? (372 pages), by Craig N. Murphy, published by Cambridge University Press, New York/US & Cambridge/UK, 2006 (ISBN 0-521-68316-5). O'Donnell's work and influence in East Timor in early 2000, cited (page 341).