President, Genealogical Society of Ireland; Ambassador, Sovereign Order of Malta (formerly to Slovakia); Former United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in multiple countries
Short Bio:
Ambassador Francis Martin O’Donnell is President of the Genealogical Society of Ireland, President of the O’Donnell Clan Association, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, and life member of the Institute of International & European Affairs. He is a founder-member of the Peace Reflection Group hosted by the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability.
He contributes on geo-politics, multilateralism, globalisation and governance reforms to networks of former presidents/prime ministers, such as the InterAction Council of former Heads of States & Governments, the Global Baku Forum and the Club de Madrid. In 2023, his monograph Desperate Hope - Reflections on Survival Pathways for Civilisation was presented to the InterAction Council. He also serves as a trustee/director of the School of Civic Education (UK; under the auspices of the Council of Europe). A member and ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta, formerly to Slovakia 2009-2013, O’Donnell previously led UN activities in Ukraine 2004-2009 and in Yugoslavia/Serbia-Montenegro 2000-2004. Prior to that he was Deputy Director for Emergency Response in UNDP Headquarters and later Principal Advisor and Team Leader on systemic governance in crisis countries, with insights he brought into initiatives for governance foundations for pre-independence Timor Leste, and post-conflict reforms in Yugoslavia/Serbia-Montenegro and later in Ukraine.
During his 32-year UN tenure he pioneered rapid humanitarian deployments of expertise to 40 war-torn countries, helped broker negotiations stabilizing post-conflict countries, advanced sustainable developments programmes and promoted economic and governance reforms. His Irish-Arab Society initiative in 1968 played a key role in Irish-Arab diplomatic, trade and cultural links with 12 countries in the 1970s.
He is published in scholarly journals and has lectured at the Sorbonne in Paris and in Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Helsinki, Kyiv, Madrid, Riga, Rome, Segovia and Vienna. His book The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell - A Hidden Legacy was published by Academica Press, Washington DC, in 2018, and he lately edited and published Memorialising Emigré Dignity, a collection of historical essays by various authors, launched in September 2025 in the Royal Irish Academy. An NUI honours graduate in Economics and Philosophy (1975) from University College Dublin, he read International Law and Diplomacy at postgraduate level in Geneva, and qualified in Disaster Management in Madison, Wisconsin. His extensive bibliography is available on academia.edu.
