Dag Hammarskjöld summary

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Dag Hammarskjöld, (born July 29, 1905, Jönköping, Swed.—died Sept. 18, 1961, near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia), Second secretary-general of the UN (1953–61). His father was prime minister of Sweden and chairman of the Nobel Prize Foundation. Hammarskjöld studied law and economics in Uppsala and Stockholm, then taught at Stockholm (1933–36). He served in the finance ministry, as president of the board of the Bank of Sweden, and in the foreign ministry, where he became chair of the Swedish delegation to the UN (1952). He was appointed secretary-general in 1953 and was reappointed in 1957. His first three years were quiet, but he subsequently dealt with the Suez Crisis, conflict in Lebanon and Jordan, and civil strife following the creation of the Republic of the Congo (1960). He died in a plane crash on a peace mission to Africa. He was posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1961. As secretary-general, Hammarskjöld is generally thought to have combined great moral force with subtlety in meeting international challenges.

Nobel Prize Summary

Nobel Prize, any of the prizes (five in number until 1969, when a sixth was added) that are awarded annually from a fund bequeathed for that purpose by the Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards given for intellectual

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

United Nations Summary

United Nations (UN), international organization established on October 24, 1945. The United Nations (UN) was the second multipurpose international organization established in the 20th century that was worldwide in scope and membership. Its predecessor, the League of Nations, was created by the

Sweden Summary

Sweden, country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. The name Sweden was derived from the Svear, or Suiones, a people mentioned as early as 98 ce by the Roman author Tacitus. The country’s ancient name was Svithiod. Stockholm has been the permanent capital since 1523. Sweden