WASHINGTON, July 12, 2002 –The United States Institute of Peace mourns the passing of John Wallach, a tireless and heroic advocate for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere. Mr. Wallach died in New York on Wednesday, July 10 after a long struggle with lung cancer. He was 59.

Mr. Wallach was a great friend to the U.S. Institute of Peace, having been a senior fellow in 1997-98, a multiple grantee and a participant in numerous Institute programs and events.

After a long and distinguished career in journalism, Mr. Wallach founded the Seeds of Peace project in 1993. It brings together young people from zones of conflict at a summer camp in Maine. He told the project's story in a book, The Enemy Has a Face: The Seeds of Peace Experience, which the U.S. Institute of Peace is proud to have published in 2000. He wrote several other books, including a biography of Yasser Arafat, which he co-authored with his wife, Janet Wallach.

Image on right: John Wallach speaks to participants during a Seeds of Peace Summer Camp in Maine.

Mr. Wallach was the foreign editor of Hearst Newspapers from 1968 to 1994. During that period he contributed frequently to NPR, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Company and other press outlets. He was well-known and highly respected in the foreign policy world and his reportage earned him the National Press Club's Edwin Hood Award, the Overseas Press Club Award and other honors.

He was no less acclaimed as a peace activist. His work with Seeds of Peace won him the UNESCO Peace Prize in 1996 and the Legion of Honor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1997.

Mr. Wallach was boundlessly energetic and remained active until the end of his life. While receiving chemotherapy treatments, he participated by phone in a May panel discussion at the Institute on negotiating with terrorists.

His many friends here will sorely miss him.

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.