Dag Hammarskjöld — Profile, Rankings & Fame Trend

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

The UN's second Secretary-General died mid-flight to a cease-fire — the only person to win the Nobel Peace Prize after death. His reputation splits cleanly: the West remembers a diplomatic master who built the first UN peacekeeping forces and defused crises; the Third World remembers the Congo.

Biography

About

Dag Hammarskjöld was born 29 July 1905, son of a Swedish prime minister, trained as an economist. At 47 he became the youngest Secretary-General the UN has ever had, taking the post in April 1953. He spent eight years trying to make the fledgling organization work — tightening operations, lifting morale, creating the first peacekeeping missions in Egypt and the Congo, flying into crises himself. His second term ended on 18 September 1961 when his plane went down en route to Congo cease-fire talks. Kennedy called him the greatest statesman of the century; others saw his Congo record as erratic,…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Dag Hammarskjöld

Dag Hammarskjöld

said17 Oct 1960

You try to save a drowning man without prior authorization.

— Statement on UN Operations in Congo before the General Assembly, 17 October 1960.

Dag Hammarskjöld

said3 Oct 1960

It is not the Soviet Union or indeed any other big Powers who need the United Nations for their protection. It is all the others.

— Statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations (3 October 1960)

Dag Hammarskjöld

said19 Sep 1956

I never discuss discussions.

— Statement after diplomatic talks, as quoted in Look (19 September 1956)

Dag Hammarskjöld

said18 Mar 1956

Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.

— News reports (18 March 1956), reported in James Beasley Simpson (ed.) Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (1988)

Dag Hammarskjöld

said27 Jun 1955

The UN is not just a product of do-gooders. It is harshly real. The day will come when men will see the UN and what it means clearly. Everything will be all right — you know when?

— As quoted in The Times [London] (27 June 1955)

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

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