Dag Hammarskjold: The Man Who Built the United Nations

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The United Nations today is the largest organization in the world, with nearly every country on earth as a member. At its core, the UN is a simple yet profoundly impactful concept: a place where sovereign nations can settle disputes without resorting to the battlefield. However, not too long ago, the UN was merely an idea and an office building in New York City. What helped turn it into the powerful force it is today was the leadership of its second Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld.

Hammarskjöld, who came from an obscure Swedish cabinet post, took on the role of the world’s most powerful diplomat. He hit the ground running, guiding the infant organization into maturity, navigating treacherous Cold War politics, and facing some of the world’s most powerful leaders. He was an enigma, loved by many yet understood by very few. One thing was clear to everyone, however: Dag Hammarskjöld was entirely committed to the ideals of the United Nations and the concept of world peace, so much so that it ultimately cost him his life.

In early 1953, the United Nations was in crisis. The body’s first Secretary-General, the Norwegian Trygve Lie, had resigned in November 1952, and the Security Council was gridlocked, unable to choose his replacement. By this point, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a high-stakes chess game known as the Cold War, resorting to every trick short of nuclear war to gain an edge over each other. Since both were members of the Security Council, they held veto power over its decisions, meaning any candidate considered too close to one side was rejected by the other.

Months of gridlock led to concerns about the future of this new diplomatic organization. If the superpowers couldn’t even agree on someone to run it, the UN was surely doomed to failure, just like the League of Nations two decades earlier. What was needed was a compromise candidate—someone who would not offend either East or West. It just so happened that Anthony Eden, the British Foreign Secretary, knew Hammarskjöld, an obscure 48-year-old Swedish government minister who had enjoyed a successful but unremarkable career in Sweden’s civil service.

With everyone running out of ideas, Eden suggested Hammarskjöld to the UK’s representative on the Security Council. The U.S. and the Soviet Union barely knew who Hammarskjöld was and believed him to be a harmless bureaucrat, perfect for their purposes. On March 31, 1953, the Security Council voted in favor of Hammarskjöld becoming the new Secretary-General of the UN, a nomination that was confirmed without a fuss by the General Assembly.

The oddest part of the whole affair was that nobody in New York had bothered to ask Hammarskjöld if he would be interested in the job. The first he heard about the nomination was when he received a phone call from a journalist in the middle of the night right after the vote occurred. He initially believed it to be a prank and angrily hung up the phone. However, a few hours later, an official cable came from New York asking him to accept the job. Hammarskjöld was flabbergasted, having never shown any interest in the position prior to that moment.

After consulting with the Swedish government, he felt he couldn’t refuse the call to serve his fellow man, even if he felt completely unqualified to step onto the world stage. A week later, he was sworn in as the U.N. Secretary-General at the United Nations building in New York City. His nomination would prove to be one of the most impactful decisions of the 20th century.

One of Hammarskjöld’s first tasks was to reform the administrative staff of the UN. Under his leadership, the Secretariat would grow to some 4,000 diplomats who were asked to leave their personal and national interests at the door in favor of the cause of the United Nations. Hammarskjöld understood that failure to prioritize the common good over national considerations had been the primary failure of international peacekeeping efforts going back to the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

For the UN to succeed in its mission to prevent conflict, he needed to create a new class of international civil servants recruited from all over the world. He was assisted by a group of advisors who became close friends, including Ralph Bunche, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for successfully negotiating an end to the first Arab-Israeli war in 1949. Hammarskjöld embodied this new philosophy; while never forgetting where he had come from, he embraced his new role wholeheartedly.

He was a workaholic who subsisted on little sleep and few creature comforts. His apartment was described as monastic and Spartan. He was also somewhat of an enigma to New York society, which had trouble understanding a man whose only interests outside of work appeared to be an appreciation for fine arts and literature, as well as the outdoors. He never married and had no children, leading some to speculate about his personal life, but there is no evidence that Hammarskjöld had any sexual liaisons with anyone, male or female.

In July 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser surprised the world by announcing the nationalization of the Suez Canal, buying it out from British and French owners. Nasser hoped to use the revenue from the canal to finance the Aswan High Dam, which would end the annual flooding of the Nile and improve the Egyptian economy. Great Britain was already struggling with the sudden and rapid loss of its empire, and the loss of the canal seemed to be another blow to their prestige.

Anthony Eden, the Prime Minister, viewed Nasser as a threat to the established order and the economic security of Europe, as the Suez Canal was a key transit point for oil trade. Eden brought together the governments of France and Israel, who also saw Nasser as a threat, and together they devised a secret plan. Israel would invade Egyptian territory, and after the Egyptian military responded, the British and French would act as peacemakers, calling for a ceasefire and demanding that Egypt allow Anglo-French troops to occupy the Suez Canal Zone.

When Nasser refused, the British and French invaded, hoping to provoke the Egyptian people to turn against Nasser. The conflict began on October 29, and things quickly went wrong. The Anglo-French forces were unable to prevent the Egyptians from sinking ships filled with concrete into the canal, making shipping impossible. Egypt’s allies declared an oil embargo, and the situation escalated.

President Eisenhower was outraged by the events, angry that his allies had gone behind his back and launched a war of aggression that risked Soviet intervention and the possibility of a third world war. This was the first major test for the United Nations since Hammarskjöld had assumed leadership, and he responded by taking a leading role in managing the crisis.

The General Assembly called on him to enact a resolution for an immediate ceasefire on all sides. Hammarskjöld, advised by Lester B. Pearson, future Canadian Prime Minister, oversaw the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), troops under the UN banner who were not there to fight a war but to keep the warring nations apart. This was a revolutionary idea that would prove significant in the decades to follow.

To distinguish the peacekeepers from combatant troops, the idea was conceived for them to wear blue helmets. The 6,000 troops from seven countries that made up the UNEF painted their helmets blue, creating a distinctive look that continues to this day. The peacekeepers gradually replaced the British and French troops in the Canal Zone, sending them home while the UNEF worked to clear obstacles from the canal and keep the combatants separated.

Meanwhile, UN diplomats worked to convince the Israelis to retreat behind their ceasefire line. In March 1957, Israel achieved one of its primary war aims when Egypt agreed to end the blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba, opening the Red Sea to Israeli shipping. This was the only success in a conflict that was particularly disastrous for Britain, where Eden resigned in disgrace. Nasser emerged as a hero in the Middle East, an Arab champion who had stood up to colonial powers.

Perhaps the biggest winner of the Suez Crisis was the United Nations and Dag Hammarskjöld. He proved that the international body could successfully mediate in a crisis to prevent a small regional conflict from escalating into a major war. For emerging nations in the wake of decolonization, the UN was seen as a friend, an organization capable of delivering justice.

However, this belief would be tested in the years to come, particularly in Africa, where the consequences of colonialism continued to affect the continent. The Belgian Congo, originally a private colony owned by King Leopold II, was annexed by the Belgian government in 1908. Unlike other European colonies, the Belgians did not pretend to care about the welfare of their colonial subjects.

On June 30, 1960, the Belgians abruptly granted the Congo independence, but there was no transition period or proper education for the Congolese on how to run their country. This lack of preparation led to chaos. The crisis began less than a week later when the Congolese Army revolted after their white commander indicated that nothing would change in the hierarchy. Panic ensued among the Belgian community, many of whom fled the country, taking their knowledge with them.

On July 9, Belgium sent in thousands of troops without consulting the Congolese government, claiming they needed to protect lives and property. They congregated in Katanga province, whose leader declared that Katanga was seceding from the rest of the Congo. The situation was dire, and the UN was called in to help.

Hammarskjöld and his team planned for a UN force to order the Belgian troops out of the country and prevent further deterioration. However, the situation was complicated by the Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who wanted the UN troops under his control to crush the secession. Hammarskjöld refused, stating that his troops were there to stop a war, not start one.

Lumumba threatened to seek military help from the Soviet Union, viewing Hammarskjöld’s refusal as a sign of Western imperialism. The situation worsened with foreign spies manipulating events behind the scenes. The CIA plotted to assassinate Lumumba, viewing him as a threat. Ultimately, Lumumba was arrested and handed over to his enemies, leading to his execution in December 1961.

Hammarskjöld was blamed for Lumumba’s death and the deteriorating situation in the Congo. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Hammarskjöld at the General Assembly, accusing him of incompetence and demanding his resignation. Despite the criticism, Hammarskjöld defended himself and refused to resign, buoyed by support from around the world.

The Congo crisis continued, and in September 1961, UN forces embarked on a major operation to round up mercenaries in Katanga. However, this operation was conducted without Hammarskjöld’s prior knowledge or approval, leading to violent clashes.

On September 17, 1961, Hammarskjöld and others left Leopoldville for a meeting in Northern Rhodesia. The plane, leased by the UN, crashed on September 18, killing Hammarskjöld at the age of 56. His death touched off a wave of mourning worldwide, and he was given a state funeral in Sweden.

Two months after his death, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the only posthumous award of the honor. President John F. Kennedy remarked that compared to Hammarskjöld, he felt like a small man.

Hammarskjöld’s successor managed to bring an end to the Katanga crisis, but the Congo continued to be embroiled in chaos. Joseph Mobutu staged a second coup, renaming the country Zaire and ruling until 1997.

Speculation about the crash of Hammarskjöld’s plane continues, with some suggesting it was not an accident. Official investigations cited pilot error, but there are theories of foul play.

Today, Hammarskjöld is considered one of the best Secretary-Generals in UN history. He helped bring the UN to maturity and inspired a cadre of diplomats committed to its ideals. His legacy continues to influence the organization, which now addresses a wide range of global issues beyond conflict resolution. Hammarskjöld’s contributions to the UN are evident in various honors and initiatives named after him, and his commitment to peace remains an aspiration for future generations.