Landrum Rymer Bolling (November 13, 1913, – January 17, 2018) was an American journalist, diplomat, and a noted pacifist who was a leading expert and activist for peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He was honored with many awards for his work to promote peace, and in the fall of 2002, Earlham College named its new social sciences building after him.
After the end of the war, he remained in Berlin to work as an editor for the Overseas News Agency, based in New York.
In 1982 he served as research professor of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service for one year.
Under his leadership, the college gained a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and hired its first African American faculty member, William Cousins.
Most notably, during Jimmy Carter's administration, he was a highly trusted unofficial backchannel from the White House to the Palestine Liberation Organization and its leader, Yaser Arafat.
[11] He was also a senior advisor and board member of the Conflict Management Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C.[9][11] On the eve of Bolling's centennial birthday, former president Jimmy Carter emailed a tribute to the daily newspaper in the city where Earlham College is located:[12] A longtime friend and colleague, Landrum Bolling is renowned for his many achievements as an educator and journalist, leader in philanthropic, humanitarian, and interfaith efforts, and as a citizen peacemaker.
Knowing of his personal acquaintance with Israeli and Arab leaders and his experience in the region, I turned to him for advice and assistance while negotiating the Camp David Accords while I was president.
His other books include This is Germany, Private Foreign Aid: U.S. philanthropy for relief and development (Westview Press 1982),[13] Reporters Under Fire: U.S. Media Coverage of Conflicts in Lebanon and Central America (Westview Press 1984),[14] and Conflict Resolution: Track Two Diplomacy.