Dag Hammarskjöld
2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations
In office April 10, 1953 – September 18, 1961
Preceded by	Trygve Lie
Succeeded by	U Thant
Born	July 29, 1905(1905-07-29) Jönköping, Sweden
Died	September 18, 1961 (aged 56) Ndola, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Nationality	Swedish
Religion	Lutheran/Church of Sweden

Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (Dag Hammarskjöld (help·info)) (July 29, 1905 – September 18, 1961) was a Swedish diplomat, Christian mystic, and the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Trygve Halvdan Lie ( ( July 16, 1896 &ndash December 30, 1968) was a Norwegian politician U Thant (ဦးသန့် 22 January 1909 &ndash 25 November 1974) was a Burmese Diplomat and the third Secretary-General Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Jönköping is a city in Småland in southern Sweden with 84423 inhabitants (2005 "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ndola is the second-largest city in Zambia, with a population of 374757 (2000 census Constitutional origins It was commonly understood that Southern Rhodesia would be the dominant territory in the federation — economically electorally and militarily "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther The Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan Ruoŧa girkui is the largest church in Sweden. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states Christian Mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of Prayer (including oratio meditation and Contemplation The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security He served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961 under mysterious circumstances. The exact cause of his death has never been conclusively determined. He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor ^[1]

Early life

Dag Hammarskjöld was born in Jönköping, although he lived most of his childhood in Uppsala. Jönköping is a city in Småland in southern Sweden with 84423 inhabitants (2005 Uppsala ˈɵpˌsɑːla (older spelling Upsala) is the capital of Uppsala County ( Uppsala län) and the fourth largest city of He was the fourth and youngest son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, Prime Minister of Sweden (1914–1917), and Agnes Almquist. Knut Hjalmar Leonard Hammarskjöld ( February 4, 1862 &ndash October 12 1953) was a Swedish Politician, Scholar, Cabinet The Prime Minister (statsminister literally "Minister of the State" is the Head of government in Sweden. His ancestors had served the Swedish Crown since the 17th century. Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar He studied at Uppsala University where he graduated with a Master's degree in political economy and a Bachelor of Law degree. Uppsala University ( Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a world-class research University in Uppsala, Sweden. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government The Bachelor of Laws (abbreviated LLB, LLB or rarely LlB) is an undergraduate or bachelor degree in law offered in most Common law He then moved to Stockholm. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the

From 1930 to 1934, he was a secretary of a governmental committee on unemployment. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. He also wrote his economics thesis Konjunkturspridningen (The Spread of the Business Cycle) and received his Doctorate from Stockholm University in 1933. A doctorate is an Academic degree that indicates the highest level of academic achievement Stockholm University ( Stockholms universitet) is a state University in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1936, Hammarskjöld became a secretary in the Bank of Sweden and soon he was an undersecretary of finance. Sveriges Riksbank, or simply Riksbanken, is the Central bank of Sweden and the world's oldest central bank From 1941 to 1948, he served as a chairman of the Bank of Sweden.

Early in 1945, he was appointed as adviser to the cabinet on financial and economic problems, and coordinated government plans to alleviate the economic problems of the post-war period.

In 1947, Hammarskjöld was appointed to Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and in 1949 he became the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Utrikesdepartementet is responsible for Swedish foreign policy The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (kabinettssekreterare is the highest position below the rank of cabinet minister at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was a delegate in the Paris conference that established the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan (from its enactment officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger In 1948, he was again in Paris to attend conference for the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation. In 1950, he became a head of Sweden delegation to UNISCAN. In 1951, he became a cabinet minister without portfolio and in effect Deputy Foreign Minister. A Minister without Portfolio is either a Government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry. Although Hammarskjöld served with a cabinet dominated by the Social Democrats, he never officially joined any political party. The Swedish Social Democratic Party, (Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti 'Social Democratic Workers' Party of Sweden' contests elections as 'Workers' Party - Social Democrats' In 1951, Hammarskjöld became vice chairman of the Swedish delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members He became the chairman of the Swedish delegation to the General Assembly in New York in 1952. On December 20, 1954, he was elected to take his father's vacated seat in the Swedish Academy. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The Swedish Academy (Svenska Akademien founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.

UN Secretary General

Hammarskjöld outside the UN headquarters in New York City. The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950 The City of New York

When Trygve Lie resigned from his post as UN Secretary General in 1953, the Security Council decided to recommend Hammarskjöld to the post. Trygve Halvdan Lie ( ( July 16, 1896 &ndash December 30, 1968) was a Norwegian politician The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. It came as a surprise to him. He was selected on March 31 with the majority of 10 out of eleven states. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor The UN General Assembly elected him in the April 7–10 session, by 57 votes out of 60. In 1957, he was re-elected.

Hammarskjöld started his term by establishing his own secretariat of 4,000 administrators. He set up regulations that defined their responsibilities. He insisted that the secretary-general be able to take emergency action without the prior approval of either the Security Council or General Assembly.

During his term, Hammarskjöld tried to soothe relations between Israel and the Arab states. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. In 1955, he went to mainland China to negotiate the release of 15 US pilots who had served in the Korean War and been captured by the Chinese. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the In 1956, he established the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). The first United Nations Emergency Force ( UNEF) was established by United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the 1956 Suez Crisis with resolution In 1957, he intervened in the Suez Crisis. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh

In 1960, the former Belgian colony and now newly-independent Congo asked for UN aid in defusing the escalating civil strife. The Belgian Congo ( Dutch: Belgisch Kongo French: Congo Belge German: Belgisch Kongo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to (See Congo Crisis). The Congo Crisis (1960-1965 was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence Hammarskjöld made four trips to the Congo. His efforts towards the decolonisation of Africa were considered insufficient by the USSR; in September 1960, they denounced his decision to send a UN emergency force to keep the peace. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 They demanded his resignation, and the replacement of the office of secretary-general by a three-man directorate with a built-in veto, the “troika”. A veto, Latin for "I forbid" is used to Denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of Legislation. The objective was, citing the memoirs of the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, to “equally represent interests of three groups of countries: capitalist, socialist and recently independent. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution ”^[2] Hammarskjöld denied Patrice Lumumba's request to help force Katanga to rejoin the Congo, causing Lumumba to turn to the Soviets for help. Patrice Émery Lumumba ( 2 July, 1925 – 17 January, 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Katanga is a southern province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia.

Death

Flight path of Hammarskjöld's aircraft and the decoy, September 1961

In September 1961, Hammarskjöld found out about the fighting between non-combatant UN forces and Katanga troops of Moise Tshombe. Katanga is a southern province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Moïse Kapenda Tshombe ( November 10, 1919 – June 29, 1969) was a Congolese Politician. He was en route to negotiate a cease-fire on the night of September 17-18 when his DC-6B plane (SE-BDY) crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). A ceasefire (or truce) is a temporary stoppage of a War or any Armed conflict, where each side of the conflict agrees WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Ndola is the second-largest city in Zambia, with a population of 374757 (2000 census Constitutional origins It was commonly understood that Southern Rhodesia would be the dominant territory in the federation — economically electorally and militarily The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. The crew had filed no flight plan (for security reasons), and a decoy aircraft (OO-RIC) went (via a different route) ahead of Hammarskjöld's aircraft. Flight plans are documents filed by pilots or a Flight Dispatcher with the local Civil Aviation Authority (e He and fifteen others perished.

Official inquiry

Following the death of Hammarskjöld, Nepalese diplomat Rishikesh Shaha was elected by the UN General Assembly to head an inquiry into the death of Hammarskjöld. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Rishikesh Shaha (b 1925 d November 13, 2002) was a Nepalese writer politician and Human rights activist Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members ^[3]

The explanation of investigators at the time is that Hammarskjöld's aircraft descended too low on its approach to Ndola's airport in clear weather at night. No evidence of a bomb, surface-to-air missile, or hijacking has ever been presented, even though, following the crash, 180 men searched a six square kilometre area of the last sector of the aircraft's flightpath, looking for such evidence. A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft Neither was any evidence of foul play found in the wreckage of the aircraft. The sole survivor, one of three bodyguards on board, recalled nothing that would indicate anything other than a controlled flight into terrain crash in the interviews he gave before he died of his injuries. A bodyguard (or "close protection officer" is a type of Security guard or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous wealthy or politically Controlled flight into terrain ( CFIT) describes an accident whereby an airworthy Aircraft, under pilot control inadvertently flies into terrain an ^[4]

Conspiracy theories

On August 19, 1998, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), stated that recently-uncovered letters had implicated British MI5, American CIA and South African intelligence services in the crash. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African Cleric and activist who rose to Worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent This is about the South African body For similar bodies in other countries see Truth commission. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa One TRC letter said that a bomb in the aircraft's wheel-bay was set to detonate when the wheels came down for landing. Tutu said that the veracity of the letters was unclear; the British Foreign Office suggested that they may have been created as Soviet misinformation. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. ^[5]

On July 29, 2005, 100 years after Hammarskjöld's birth, the Norwegian Major General, Bjørn Egge, gave an interview to the newspaper Aftenposten on the events surrounding his death. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries Bjørn Egge CBE (19 August 1918 in Kristiansand – 25 July 2007 was a retired Major General of the Norwegian Defence Force. Aftenposten ( Norwegian for "Evening Post" is Norway 's second largest Newspaper (after Verdens Gang) with a circulation of 250 According to Egge, who was the first UN officer to see the body, Hammarskjöld had a hole in his forehead, and this hole was subsequently airbrushed from photos taken of the body. In Human anatomy, the forehead or brow is the bony part of the head above the Eyes Cultural Aspects A popular Stereotype An airbrush is a small air-operated tool that sprays various media including Ink and Dye, but most often Paint by a process of Nebulization It appeared to Egge that Hammarskjöld had been thrown from the plane, and grass and leaves in his hands might indicate that he survived the crash, and had tried to scramble away from the wreckage. For the Transformers characters see Wreckage (Transformers. For the game see Dodgeball. Egge does not claim directly that the wound was a gunshot wound, and his statement does not align with Archbishop Tutu's information or with the findings of the official inquiry. ^[6] In an interview on March 24, 2007 on the Norwegian TV channel NRK, an anonymous retired mercenary claimed to have shared a room with an unnamed South African mercenary who claimed to have shot Hammarskjöld. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation ( Norwegian: Norsk rikskringkasting AS) which is usually known as the NRK, is the Norwegian The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by The alleged killer was claimed to have died in the late 1990s. ^[7]

Legacy

Hammarskjöld received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961, having been nominated before his death. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor

Historian Paul Kennedy hailed Hammarskjöld in his book The Parliament of Man as perhaps the greatest Secretary-General because of his ability to shape events in contrast to his successors. For other people named Paul Kennedy see Paul Kennedy (disambiguation Paul M The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Library, part of the United Nations headquarters was dedicated on 16 November 1961 in honour of the late Secretary-General. The Dag Hammarskjöld Library is part of the United Nations headquarters and is connected to the Secretariat and conference buildings through ground level and underground The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950

There is also a Dag Hammarskjöld Library at his alma mater, Uppsala University. Uppsala University ( Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a world-class research University in Uppsala, Sweden.

A Manhattan park near the United Nations headquarters is called Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, as are several of the surrounding office buildings. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York He is also commemorated as a peacemaker in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on September 18. The Lutheran Calendar of Saints is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by the Lutheran Church The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago Illinois. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated

A number of schools have been named after Hammarskjöld, including Hammarskjold Middle School in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, USA, Dag Hammarskjold Middle School in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA, Dag Hammarskjold Elementary School in Parma, Ohio, and Hammarskjold High School in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Hammarskjold Middle School is a middle school for grades 6 and 7 in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, as part of the East Brunswick Public Schools. This article is about the township in New Jersey for the suburb in Melbourne Victoria see Brunswick East Victoria East Brunswick is a Suburban Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, located at 106 Pond Hill Road Wallingford Connecticut, was established on October 12, 1919. Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Dag Hammarskjold Elementary School is a part of the Parma City School District Parma is a City in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and the largest Suburb of Cleveland. Hammarskjold High School is a public High school located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, with an enrollment of roughly 1300 students Thunder Bay ( 2006 census population 109140 formerly the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, is a City in and the seat of Thunder

In 1962 the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation was created as Sweden’s national memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld. The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation was created in 1962 as Sweden’s national memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in ^[8]

Carleton University awarded its first ever honorary degree to Hammarskjold in 1954 when it presented him with a Legum Doctor, honoris causa. This article is about the university in Ottawa Ontario Canada Doctor of Laws ( Latin: Legum Doctor, LLD) is a Doctorate -level Academic degree in Law. The University has continued this tradition by convocating an honorary doctorate upon every subsequent Secretary General of the United Nations.

On 22 July 1997 the Security Council in resolution 1121(1997) established the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal in recognition and commemoration of those who have lost their life as a result of service in peacekeeping operations under the operational control and authority of the United Nations. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar ^[9]

His only book, Vägmärken (Markings), was published in 1963. A collection of his diary reflections, the book starts in 1925, when he was 20 years old, and ends at his death in 1961. ^[10] In the book, Hammarskjöld reveals himself as a Christian Mystic and describes his diplomat deed in the way of a “inner journey”; the book became popular with U. Christian Mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of Prayer (including oratio meditation and Contemplation S. students and also with the former Swedish archbishop, K. G. Hammar. Karl Gustav Hilding Hammar (born February 18, 1943 in Hässleholm) commonly referred to as K

Hammarskjöld is still the only U. N. Secretary-General to die in office.

Spirituality

Although as an adult he rejected his family's Lutheran faith, he continued to search for spiritual meaning. His collection of spiritual notes was published posthumously under the title Markings, which instantly became a best seller and a Christian classic.

References

See also

• Olof Palme
• Bernt Carlsson
• Hammarskjöld trophy

External links

• Swedish website about Dag Hammarskjöld including photos and video clips
• Kofi Annan, Dag Hammarskjöld and the 21st century, The Fourth Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture 6 September 2001, Uppsala University (pdf)
• Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation
• Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General: the official website of the UN
• Dag Hammarskjöld Library, United Nations, New York
• Markings - "the spiritual diary of Dag Hammarskjöld"
• Biography
• The Nobel Prize
• Letters say Hammarskjöld's death Western plot
• Plot to kill Hammarskjöld
• Media briefing by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• 18 September 1961 UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld is killed