Background

Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was born on July 19, 1905, in Jönköping, Jonkopings Lan, Sweden to the noble family Hammarskjöld (also spelled Hammarskiöld or Hammarsköld). He was the youngest of four sons of Agnes Almquist and Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917, member of the Hague Tribunal, Governor of Uppland, chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation. In a brief piece written for a radio program in 1953, Dag Hammarskjöld spoke of the influence of his parents: "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."

Hammarskjöld spent most of his childhood in the university town of Uppsala where his father then served as Governor of the county of Uppland.

Education

In 1916, Dag Hammarskjöld attended Uppsala Högre Allmänna Läroverk (now Katedralskolan). He was a very industrious and talented student with a particular interest in history, literature, and social issues. He graduated in 1923 with twelve A, five a and one B in physical education.

After his confirmation and a study trip to Cambridge in England, Hammarskjöld began his studies at Uppsala University. He studied Romance languages (French), practical philosophy, and economics. After only two and a half years of studies, he obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy degree - twice as fast as his brother Sten.

With Hjalmar as his father, Hammarskjöld also had the privilege of meeting the intellectual elite of that time, which certainly acted as an important informal education for him.

Hammarskjöld decided to continue studying economics. By 1930, he had obtained Licentiate of Philosophy and Master of Laws degrees.

Hammarskjöld then moved to Stockholm, where he became a secretary of a governmental committee on unemployment and received his doctoral degree in economics from the University of Stockholm.

Career

In 1930 Dag Hammarskjöld was appointed secretary of the Royal Commission on Unemployment. He quickly developed a successful career as a public servant in Sweden. He was secretary of the Riksbank (the central bank of Sweden) 1935-1941, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance 1936-1945, Governor of the Riksbank 1941-1948, Swedish delegate in the OEEC (Organization for European Economic Cooperation) 1947-1953, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1949–1951 and minister without portfolio in Tage Erlander’s government 1951-1953.

As State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Hammarskjöld worked with the economic problems that arose as a result of the Second World War. Hammarskjöld’s mission meant that he played an important role in how the Swedish economy was designed in the years after World War II.

Hammarskjöld had a leading position in Sweden’s delegation to the sixth and seventh UN General Assembly. His role as a Swedish delegate in the OEEC would prove to be very important for his future career. It was during the OEEC’s post-war negotiations in Paris that a number of influential UN officials noticed Hammarskjöld.

After the death of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld in 1953, the Swedish Academy selected Dag Hammarskjöld as a successor to Chair number 17.

In 1952, the first United Nations Secretary-General, the Norwegian Trygve Lie, resigned from his post. By supporting the American line in the Korean War, Lie had completely lost the support of the Soviet Union. Criticism was spreading and when the people in Lie’s own secretariat began to show signs of distrust, the situation became untenable.

The search for a successor started in early 1953. A number of names appeared in the discussions, but none had the support of all permanent members of the Security Council. Eventually, one name came forward that everyone could agree on - Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjöld.

Hammarskjöld was not a member of any political party, although he sat in the Swedish government. That plus the fact that he came from neutral Sweden made him a candidate that both East and West could accept. The fact that he was fluent in English, German, and French was also an advantage.

Hammarskjöld himself had not been consulted in advance and was surprised when the news came. However, he accepted the offer. After having responded to numerous questions from journalists, Dag Hammarskjöld traveled to New York. At the airport, he was welcomed by Trygve Lie, who was not fond of the fact that a Swede would succeed him, with the words "you are going to take over the most impossible job on Earth" (Fredens pris 2005). Dag Hammarskjöld swore the oath of office in the General Assembly on 10 April 1953.

Hammarskjöld’s arrival at the United Nations can be seen as something of a fresh start in the political world. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had recently died and the United States had elected a new president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Hammarskjöld was very cautious in the beginning. He gave the impression of being shy, but friendly. He went around and shook hands with all employees in the United Nations Headquarters.

In the Secretariat, there was chaos, so Hammarskjöld’s first challenge was to try to resolve the problems. By proposing new rules, reorganizing staff, and removing unnecessary middle management, he succeeded in improving coordination within the organization. He also managed to decrease costs. Hammarskjöld also showed a great interest in the United Nations Building’s art and architecture. He, for example, was deeply involved in the interior design of the United Nations Meditation Room.

When Hammarskjöld took office, McCarthyism was at its peak. The United States put heavy demands on its United Nations officials and Trygve Lie had allowed FBI agents into the United Nations Building. Dag Hammarskjöld was very critical of this and made sure that the FBI left the United Nations Building and he noted that United Nations employees did not have to respond to any external authority if it did not concern criminal charges.

During his initial year at the United Nations, Hammarskjöld sought to streamline the operations of the Secretariat and to reduce the political interference of member states in Secretariat administration. He made it clear, however, that he felt the role of secretary-general included serving as a trusted consultant to all sides in conflict and as a discreet channel of communications when normal diplomatic channels were inadequate. The practicality of this approach was proved in 1955 when Hammarskjöld successfully secured the release of 15 American fliers shot down over China and held by the Chinese.

Hammarskjöld's role as mediator became even more apparent in the 1956 Middle East crisis. In January, he conferred with both President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Premier David Ben Gurion of Israel, and his quiet diplomacy kept the explosive situation temporarily in check. After the nationalization of the Suez Canal in late 1956 and the subsequent military invasion of Egypt by Israel, France, and England, Hammarskjöld led in getting these forces removed and the canal reopened. A crucial factor was the establishment of a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), though previously the United Nations had only sent observers to areas of strife. Within a matter of weeks, Hammarskjöld was able to establish the force and arrange for its operation along the lines between Israel and Egypt. In 1958 Hammarskjöld was reelected as a secretary-general. He increasingly turned his attention to the emerging nations of Asia and Africa. Asian leaders sought his personal advice and diplomatic help. Hammarskjöld's trip to 24 African nations in 1960 deeply impressed him with the need for the United Nations to give assistance to newly independent countries, particularly with problems of public administration, economic development, and social reform.

In July 1960 the Security Council authorized Hammarskjöld to give military assistance to the newly independent Republic of the Congo in order to restore and maintain law and order. Hammarskjöld organized a military force composed of contingents contributed by various countries, excluding the major military powers. He felt that maintaining order in the troubled country was the greatest single task the United Nations faced. His efforts were severely criticized by the U.S.S.R. and nations in its sphere of influence. In September 1961 Hammarskjöld traveled to the Congo at the invitation of the Congolese government to mediate between the various factions within the country. During his stay fighting broke out between secessionist forces in Katanga and the United Nations peace-keeping troops stationed there. In Léopoldville, Hammarskjöld conferred with the government, then flew to meet Moise Tshombe, leader of the Katanga secessionists. En route, on September 17 Hammarskjöld and 15 others were killed when their plane crashed in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia).

Achievements

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  Dag Hammarskjöld played a leading role in expanding the operations of the United Nations, most notably through the establishment of peace-keeping forces and through technical and economic assistance to poor and newly independent nations. He practiced "quiet diplomacy" to reduce conflict and to build an international civil service that could carry out functions necessary to maintain peace and promote welfare. His extraordinary intellectual brilliance and courage were widely admired.
  
  The Nobel Committee lauded Hammarskjöld for having built up an efficient and independent United Nations Secretariat, and for having taken an independent line towards the great powers. He was also praised for having organized a peacekeeping force in the Middle East after the Suez crisis, and for his commitment to peace during the civil war in the Congo.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Markings

    (A powerful journal of poems and spiritual meditations rec...)

    1963

Religion

The posthumous publication of Hammarskjöld's journal, Markings, revealed him as an intensely religious man, preoccupied with the spiritual problems of reconciling abstract ideals with human frailty.

Politics

Hammarskjöld played an important part in shaping Sweden’s financial policy. He led a series of trade and financial negotiations with other countries and headed Swedish delegations to the United Nations General Assembly in Paris and New York. Although he served with the Social-Democratic cabinet, Hammarskjöld never joined any political party, regarding himself as politically independent.

Views

As secretary-general, Hammarskjöld is generally thought to have combined great moral force with subtlety in meeting international challenges. He insisted on the freedom of the secretary-general to take emergency action without prior approval by the Security Council or the General Assembly. He also allayed widespread fears that the United Nations would be completely dominated by its chief source of financial support, the United States. The absence of a major international crisis during the first three years of his secretaryship enabled him to concentrate on quietly building public confidence in himself and his office.

Hammarskjöld believed that the United Nations' main task was to keep the peace, which he saw as the basis for social progress. Peace could be maintained through an enhanced respect for international law and of an independent, supervisory organization. He, however, was well aware of the criticism of the United Nations' effectiveness, but defended the organization by saying that the United Nations was “not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.”

Despite the fact that a significant part of the criticism came from the press, Hammarskjöld wanted to have a mutually good relationship with the media because he realized that they played an important role. With his intellectual capacity, Hammarskjöld could talk a lot without saying anything new or controversial at press conferences.

Quotations: "I would rather live my life as though there is a God and die to find out that there isn't, than to live my life as though there is no God and die to find out there is."

"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. To build a world of justice, we must be just."

"The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned."

"I never discuss discussions."

"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."

"Those who invoke history will certainly be heard by history. And they will have to accept its verdict."

Membership

Dag Hammarskjöld was a member of the Swedish Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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  Swedish Academy , Sweden

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  American Academy of Arts and Sciences , United States

Personality

During his student years, Dag Hammarskjöld laid the basis for his command of English, French, and German and for his stylistic mastery of his native language in which he developed something of the artist’s touch. He was capable of understanding the poetry of the German Hermann Hesse and of the American Emily Dickinson; of taking delight in painting, especially in the work of the French Impressionists; of discoursing on music, particularly on the compositions of Beethoven; and in later years, of participating in sophisticated dialogue on Christian theology. In athletics, he was a competent performer in gymnastics, a strong skier, a mountaineer who served for some years as the president of the Swedish Alpinist club. In short, Hammarskjöld was a Renaissance man.

Dag Hammarskjöld also had his weaknesses. He demanded very much from colleagues and it seemed that he did not care much for people who did not meet his high standards, something that could offend people. When Hammarskjöld disliked something or somebody, it was often noticeable in terse language or cold silence. It was difficult to get close to Hammarskjöld on a personal level, and he did not like physical contact. Hammarskjöld also had a tendency to interpret his personal relationships with important people as better than they actually were. For example, his contacts with Chou En-lai were cut off shortly after Hammarskjöld’s last China visit.

Hammarskjöld was good at writing speeches, but his performances were rigid and not very motivating. He mostly read monotonically directly from the paper because he felt that exaggerated gestures and rhetorical tricks looked staged.

Quotes from others about the person

• "[Hammarskjöld is] the greatest statesman of our century." - John F. Kennedy, President of the United States
  
  "It will not surprise you to hear that Dag Hammarskjöld is a figure of great importance for me - as he must be for any Secretary-General. His life and his death, his words and his action, have done more to shape public expectations of the office, and indeed of the Organisation, than those of any other man or woman in its history." - Kofi Annan, seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations
  
  "He [Hammarskjöld] has a physical stamina unique in the world, a man who night after night has gone with one or two hours of sleep and worked all day intelligently and devotedly." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States

Interests

• mountain hiking

• Philosophers & Thinkers

  Meister Eckhart, Jan van Ruysbroek, Henri Bergson, Albert Schweitzer, Carl Linnaeus, Martin Buber, Raúl Prebisch

• Politicians

  Zhou Enlai

• Writers

  Hermann Hesse, Emily Dickinson

• Artists

  Barbara Hepworth, Sherpa Tenzing

• Sport & Clubs

  gymnastics, skiing

• Music & Bands

  Ludwig van Beethoven

Connections

Hammarskjöld had no wife or family of his own, and during a press conference he jokingly said that the United Nations Charter should contain a clause, which says "the Secretary-General of the United Nations should have an iron constitution and should not be married." Since he had no family, he was able to focus all of his energy on the United Nations and work long hours. In a letter to his friend Bo Beskow, Hammarskjöld said that he could sustain himself on "the light and easy warmth of contact with friends such as Greta and yourself […] When I see other possibilities (like yours), I can feel a short pain of having missed something, but the final reaction is: what must be, is right."

Since Hammarskjöld lived alone, rumors began to spread that he was homosexual and his opponents used this to besmirch him. None of his close friends believed, however, that he was homosexual. Sverker Åström, who was homosexual himself and known to be outspoken, said "during our long coexistence, including in personal contexts, not the slightest sign of this ever appeared."

Father:

Hjalmar Hammarskjöld

Mother:

Agnes Maria Carolina Almquist

Friend:

Bo Beskow

Friend:

Sverker Åström

References

• Hammarskjöld: A Life
  2013
• Political Ethics and The United Nations: Dag Hammarskjöld as Secretary-General
  2007
• Dag Hammarskjöld: The Diplomat, The Mystic, The Man, The Mystery
  2014
• Dag Hammarskjöld - Markings of his life
  2016
• Who Killed Hammarskjold?: The UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa
  2014
• Dag Hammarskjöld: Instrument, Catalyst, Inspirer
  2012
• Dag Hammarskjold's White Book: An Analysis of Markings
  1969
• Politics and Conscience: Dag Hammarskjold on the Art of Ethical Leadership
  2020