Dag Hammarskjold, the son
of Hjalmar Hammarskjold, prime minister of Sweden,
was born on 29th July, 1905. He studied at Uppsala University where
he took a degree in the humanities. A talented linguist he spoke several
languages including English, French and German. He took further degrees
in economics (1928) and law (1930) and taught in 1933 began teaching
at the University of Stockholm.
Hammarskjold worked on
the Royal Commission on Unemployment. This was followed by the post
of undersecretary in the Ministry of Finance (1936-1945) where he
ran the Swedish Price Control Board. After the war Hammarskjold became
head of the Risbank. While in this post he drafted the legislation
that introduced the Welfare State in Sweden. It was during this period
he was credited with being the first to use the term the "planned
economy".
Although he was not a member
of any political party, Hammarskjold joined the government and served
in the foreign ministry. He favoured international economic cooperation
and played an important role in the development of the Council of
Europe and the Organization of European Economic Cooperation. He was
also involved in the implementation of the Marshall
Plan. However,
he strongly resisted pressure for Sweden to join the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO).
In 1949 Hammarskjold represented
Sweden as a delegate to the United Nations
and in 1953 was elected Secretary General of the organization. I this
post he was involved in negotiating the release of American soldiers
captured by the Chinese in the Korean
War. Hammarskjold
refused to submit to McCarthyism
and rejected the idea put
forward by John
Foster Dulles that
the Federal Bureau of Investigation should
investigate the staff of the UN.
He was also involved in
what he called "preventive diplomacy". This included attempts
to solve the disputes in Palestine,
Vietnam and Egypt.
During the Suez
Canal Crisis
Hammarskjold managed to persuade the United Nations
Security Council to condemn the actions of Israel, France and
Britain.
In July 1960 Hammarskjold
became involved in attempting to solve the civil war in the Congo.
He arranged for a UN peace-keeping force to be sent to the region
but in September 1961 fighting erupted between Katanga troops and
the noncombatant forces of the UN. In an effort to secure a cease-fire
he arranged to meet President Moise Tshombe.
On 17th September 1961 Dag Hammarskjold was killed when his plane
crashed close to Ndola airport. Hammarskjold's journal, Markings,
was published in 1963.
(1)
Dag Hammarskjold, interviewed on Swedish radio in 1953.
From generations of soldiers and government officials on my father's
side I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than
one of selfless service to your country - or humanity. This service
required a sacrifice of all personal interests, but likewise the courage
to stand up unflinchingly for your convictions. From scholars and
clergymen on my mother's side, I inherited a belief that, in the very
radical sense of the Gospels, all men were equals as children of God,
and should be met and treated by us as our masters in God."
(2)
Dag Hammarskjold, speech in 1956.
We are on dangerous ground if we believe that any individual, any
nation, or any ideology has a monopoly on rightness, liberty and human
dignity.
(3)
Dag Hammarskjold, quoted
in the book, Dag Hammarskjold - Custodian of Brush Fire Peace,
by Joseph P. Lash (1961).
The basic rule that outer space, and the celestial bodies therein,
are not considered as capable of appropriation by any state... and
that international machinery would be established reflecting the overriding
interest of the community of nations in the peaceful and beneficial
use of outer space... I am all for the cessation of tests. I am all
for the proper inspection of cessation of tests. I am all for the
stopping of production... the arms race makes it impossible to look
with equanimity upon the diplomatic game being conducted in which
governments discuss and write letters and people are misled into assuming
everything is all right. There is a point in the development when
every time an initiative is taken in good faith and its possible consequences,
possible values, are not fully explored, I have the feeling we have
missed the bus. We should not be too sure that the road will remain
open for buses all the time in the future.
(4)
Brian Urquhart, Hammarskjold (1972)
Dag Hammarskjold was that most unusual of creatures, a truly good
man. He was a man involved in momentous issues which he came to symbolize,
even in death... By his skill, stamina, and resourcefulness he made
a new art of multinational diplomacy. He gave a fresh dimension to
the task of international service by the qualities of his mind and
of his compassionate nature. He was an outstanding proponent of the
conviction that our fate is what we make it.
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