PEACE: Dag Hammarskjöld 1961 - Berlin, Germany
N 52° 30.439 E 013° 16.528
33U E 382957 N 5818863
The second Secretary-General of the United Nations, who died in plane crash in 1961 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.
Waymark Code: WMZZMM
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 01/29/2019
Views: 4
On September 18, 1961, an airplane carrying the United Nation's Secretary General crashed in what it now Zambia. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld was on his way to the Congo to conduct peace negations after a battle broke out between UN peace keeping forces and Katangese rebels during the Congo Crisis.
At this time Dag Hammarskjöld had already been nominated for the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize. Until 1972, people could receive a Nobel Prize posthumously, if they had been still alive when they were nominated.
Dag Hammarskjöld received the price for his efforts to strengthen the organization of the United Nations and for his peace negotiations in the Congo. |
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Dag Hammarskjöld was born in Jönköping/Sweden in 1905. Between 1930 and 1953, he served in several positions in the Swedish government. In 1952, he became the chairman of the Swedish delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nation. On 31 March 1953, Security Council of the United Nations elected him as Secretary-General.
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The flight during which Hammarskjöld was killed was his fifth trip to the Congo in efforts to negotiate peace between several civil war parties.
A month after his death, the central square of the Berlin Fairgrounds was named Hammarskjöld Square
A bronze plaque at the square reads:
DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD
SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
* JULY 29 1905 JONKÖPING/SWEDEN
+ SEPT. 18 1961 NDOLA/CENTRAL AFRICA
IN SERVICE FOR PEACE
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Field of Accomplishment: Peace
Year of Award: 1961
Primary Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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