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Dag Hammarskjöld

Swedish diplomat, economist, and author (1905-1961) · Sweden · Politicians · Died at 56

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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.

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A life in dates

1961Died18 September 1961Nobel Peace PrizeAward1960“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.”In their words3 October 1960Statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations (3 October 1960)

1956“I never discuss discussions.”In their words19 September 1956Statement after diplomatic talks, as quoted in Look (19 September 1956)

“Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.”In their words18 March 1956News reports (18 March 1956), reported in James Beasley Simpson (ed.) Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (1988)

1954Named Seat 17 of the Swedish AcademyOffice20 December 1954 to 17 September 1961“It has been said that the United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.”In their words13 May 1954Address at the University of California, Berkeley (13 May 1954)

“The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat.”In their words15 February 1954United Nations Bulletin, Vol. XVI, No. 4 (15 February 1954)

1953Named United Nations Secretary-GeneralOffice10 April 1953 to 18 September 1961“Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us. To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear.”In their words22 December 1953UN Press Release SG/360 (22 December 1953)

1951Named Minister of Foreign TradeOffice6 February 1951 to 8 April 19531936Named Secretary of stateOffice1 January 1936 to 1 January 19451905Born29 July 1905

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Dag HammarskjöldDag HammarskjöldMR. Dag Hammarskjöld WITH PRIME MINISTER DAVID BEN GURION AT SDE BOKER, 1959MR. Dag Hammarskjöld WITH PRIME MINISTER DAVID BEN GURION AT SDE BOKER, 19591962 Medal Danish Foreign Aid1962 Medal Danish Foreign AidAtoms for Peace (01280005) (7254400848)Atoms for Peace (01280005) (7254400848)Benjamin Mazar - Dag Hammarskjold 1959Benjamin Mazar - Dag Hammarskjold 1959CV-440 Metropolitan (3)CV-440 Metropolitan (3)CV-440 Metropolitan (4)CV-440 Metropolitan (4)Dag Hammarskjold outside the UN building-2Dag Hammarskjold outside the UN building-2

In their own words 10

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Dag Hammarskjöld
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10 statements, newest first

  1. You try to save a drowning man without prior authorization.

    Oct 17, 1960, Statement on UN Operations in Congo before the General Assembly, 17 October 1960., Own words

  2. 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.

    Oct 3, 1960, Statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations (3 October 1960), Own words

  3. I never discuss discussions.

    Sep 19, 1956, Statement after diplomatic talks, as quoted in Look (19 September 1956), Own words

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Awards

Nobel Peace Prize1961
Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog
Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav

Family

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Dag Hammarskjöld

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About this person

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, with fallout that hasn't settled.

Country
Sweden
Category
Politicians
Type
Public Official
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1905 to 1961 · aged 56

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