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Former Secretary General U Thant

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1961 - 1971

Two weeks after Secretary General Dag Hammarskjí¶ld's death in 1961, the General Assembly appointed U Thant, Ambassador of Burma to the UN, to fill the unexpired term of the late Secretary General. The following year, U Thant was elected unanimously by the General Assembly to serve for another four years. U Thant was the first person from a non-European country to hold the post as Secretary General. As he represented a non-aligned country, the US and the Soviet bloc saw him as a rather neutral choice. Known for using quiet mediation, U Thant played an important role in ending the civil war in Congo, diffusing the missile crisis in Cuba, negotiating Algeria's independence in 1962 and finding a peaceful settlement in the former Dutch East Indies. In 1966, the General Assembly unanimously reelected U Thant as Secretary General for a five year term. This became a more difficult period, dominated by the Vietnam War and the war between Israel and its neighbors. Later, the US and Israel criticized U Thant for agreeing to withdraw the peacekeeping UN Emergency Force from the Sinai Peninsula. During U Thant's tenure, the UN expanded its work on economic and social development in poor countries, and established new programs and funds, such as the UN Development Program and the UN Environmental Program.



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2000

Myanmar's U Thant Steered United Nations During Crisis (January 24, 2000)
Myanmar's U Thant Steered United Nations During Crisis (January 24, 2000) This article compares the re-election processes of former UN Secretary Generals U Thant, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kurt Waldheim. Whereas Boutros-Ghali and Waldheim were "political animals" who actively campaigned for second and even a third term, U Thant stated he would "under no circumstances whatsoever" campaign for a third term even though he had the support of the Security Council. The author advocates for a return to the days "when the office of UN Secretary General sought the person instead of the other way around." (Jakarta Post)

1961

The UN's Acting Secretary General U Thant (November 10, 1961)
In 1961, U Thant succeeded Dag Hammarskjí¶ld as UN Secretary General, after serious disagreements between Russia and the US on the number of assistant Secretary Generals. As the oldest son in a family of landowners, he quit university to support his family when his father died. He began a career in journalism and became speechwriter and secretary of his personal friend and Burmese Prime Minister U Nu. In 1952 he joined the UN delegation of Burma and before becoming Secretary General he held several posts at the UN. This article expects that, unlike his bold predecessor, U Thant will be a patient and efficient Secretary General. (Time)


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