Ambassador John W. McDonald will give the keynote address at the 32nd Washington Forum being sponsored by the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) May 10-12 at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C.
He is the author of the proclamation designating 2005-2015 as the "Second International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade" to be adopted by the United Nations on March 22 – World Water Day.
Ambassador McDonald will discuss the Water for Life global campaign to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation services and its impact on worldwide demand for water and wastewater products and services.
Ambassador McDonald is a lawyer, diplomat, former international civil servant, development expert and peace builder who is concerned about world social, economic and ethnic problems. He spent twenty years of his career in Western Europe and the Middle East and worked for sixteen years on United Nations economic and social affairs.
McDonald retired from the Foreign Service in 1987, after 40 years as a diplomat. In 1987-88, he became a Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Ambassador McDonald holds both a B.A. and a J.D. degree from the University of Illinois, and graduated from the National War College in 1967.
He was appointed Ambassador twice by President Carter and twice by President Reagan to represent the United States at various UN World Conferences.
Details on WWEMA’s Washington Forum are at www.wwema.org. Since 1908, WWEMA has informed, educated and provided leadership on the issues that shape the future of the water and wastewater industry.
Source: WWEMA
