McDonald, Iverach 1908-2006

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born October 23, 1908; died December 14, 2006. Journalist and author. A longtime correspondent and editor for the London Times, McDonald was particularly known as an expert on Russia. Coming from a prominent Scottish family whose members included university professors, ministers, farmers, and journalists, the young McDonald was influenced most by his uncle, who was the owner of the Northern Times and Highland News newspapers. He therefore resolved to become a journalist himself, getting his start as an assistant editor at the Yorkshire Post in the early 1930s. He then joined the Times Publishing Company, working in London as a subeditor and then in Berlin as a correspondent just before World War II. He quickly rose from assistant to diplomatic correspondent, also reporting from places such as Munich and Prague. When England entered World War II, McDonald enlisted. By then, his long interest in Russia had given him a solid command of the language. This was a highly valued skill in the army, but McDonald was disappointed when the result was that he had to serve out his time in military intelligence, rather than in action. He continued to send in reports to the Times, as well, notably making the accurate prediction that Adolf Hitler would invade Russia, creating a second front. When the war ended, McDonald returned to his assistant editor post, but was promoted to foreign editor in 1952. The Cold War was now heating up, and McDonald’s knowledge of Russia and its Soviet satellites was becoming increasingly important. Because the journalist had a well-rounded appreciation of Russians and their history and culture, he understood the people better because he did not view them just as Soviet communists, as many others did. McDonald fostered respectful relationships with many Soviet leaders, and had many contacts in that country that came in handy for his newspaper work. At the Times he rose to managing editor in 1965, associate editor in 1967, and director from 1968 to 1973, when he retired. After his retirement, McDonald published two books:A Man of the Times: Talks and Travels in a Disrupted World (1976) and Struggles in War and Peace, 1939-1966 (1984), which was part of the “His-tory of the Times” series released by Times Books.

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Times (London, England), December 18, 2006, p. 42.