U Thant Institute

U THANT INSTITUTE Sustaining the vision and continuing the work of U Thant, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1961-1971) U THANT •

— U.N. Secretary-General

FROM THE PRESIDENT • •

Cyclone Nargis Press Release

MYANMAR CYCLONE DISASTER FUND •

EMCRF - Please donate!

U THANT INSTITUTE • • • • • • •

History Mission Trustees, Directors, Executives Programmes The FAC Programme FAC-Rafiki FAC Snapshots

INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS News Events Library Gallery Donate Online UTI Online Store CONTACT • • • • • •

• • • •

Membership Administration Communications Friendship Across Cultures

•

.

U THANT U Thant served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971. He succeeded to the post in tragic circumstances following the death of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in a plane crash on 18 September 1961. Born in Pantanaw, Burma (Myanmar) on 22 January 1909, U Thant was educated at the National High School in Pantanaw and at University College, Rangoon. Before embarking on his diplomatic career, U Thant had gained extensive professional experience as an educator. U Thant was a member of Burma's Textbook Committee and served on the Council of National Education in the years before World War II. Additionally, he sat on the Executive Committee of the Heads of Schools Association. He also found time during that period to establish a career as a freelance journalist. In 1942, U Thant served briefly as Secretary of Burma's Education Reorganization Committee before returning to Pantanaw to teach at the National High School, and remained there as Headmaster during World War II. In 1947, U Thant was appointed Press Director of the Government of Burma. The following year, he became Director of Broadcasting, and in 1949, he was appointed Secretary to the Government of Burma in the Ministry of Information. Four years later, in 1953, U Thant became Secretary for Projects in the Office of the Prime Minister. Then, in 1955, he was assigned additional duties as Executive Secretary of Burma's Economic and Social Board. In the course of his diplomatic career, U Thant also served on several occasions as Adviser to Prime Minister U Nu. In 1952, he attended the UN General Assembly as a member of the Burmese Delegation. In 1957, he was sent as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Burma to the United Nations. In 1959, he served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly's fourteenth session. Furthermore, in September 1959, he was Chairman of the Afro-Asian Group when many world leaders were present at the UN General Assembly Session. He arranged a special meeting of the leaders of Afro-Asian Group which was attended by

Nehru of India, Nasser of Egypt, Nkrumah of Ghana, Sukarno of Indonesia, Sekou Toure of Guinea and others. Before U Thant became the Secretary-General in 1961, he served as Chairman of the United Nations Congo Conciliation Commission, Chairman of the Committee of United Nations Capital Development Fund, Chairman of the Afro-Asian Standing Committee on Algerian Independence, and work on the Congo Advisory Committee. U Thant’s tenure as Secretary-General commenced on 3 November 1961, when he was unanimously appointed Acting Secretary-General by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to fill the unexpired term of the late SecretaryGeneral, Dag Hammarskjold. He was then unanimously appointed Secretary-General by the General Assembly on 30 November 1962 for a term of office ending on 3 November 1966. On the election of U Thant as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, President John F. Kennedy issued the following statement: "The election of U Thant is a splendid achievement in which the whole world can rejoice. Please express the congratulations of the United States Government to the United Nations membership for their action in electing so distinguished a diplomat to succeed the late Dag Hammarskjold. In preserving the integrity of the office of the United Nations Secretary-General, they have reaffirmed their dedication to the United Nations Charter. To Ambassador U Thant, please express my personal congratulations, and assure him on behalf of the people of the United States that as he begins one of the world's most difficult jobs, he has our confidence and prayers." After the expiration of the first term, U Thant was re-appointed for a second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations by the General Assembly on 2 December 1966 on the unanimous recommendation of the Security Council (resolution 229, 1966). His term of office continued until 31 December 1971. U Thant received honorary degrees (LL.D) from the following universities: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada (25 May 1962); Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (10 June 1962); Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (12 June 1962); Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts (2 June 1963); Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (13 June 1963); Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (16 June 1963); University of California at Berkeley, California (2 April 1964); University of Denver, Denver, Colorado (3 April 1964); Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (8 June 1964); New York University, New York (10 June 1964); Moscow University, Moscow, Soviet Union (30 July 1964); Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (22 May 1965); Colby College, Waterville, Maine (6 June 1965); Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (14 June 1965); University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (28 May 1966); Hamilton College, Clinton, New York (5 June 1966); Fordham University, Bronx, New York (8 June 1966); Manhattan College, New York (14 June 1966); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (30 March 1967); Delhi University, New Delhi, India (13 April 1967); University of Leeds, England (26 May

1967); Louvain University, Brussels, Belgium (10 April 1968); University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (13 May 1968); Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts (19 May 1968); Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey (29 May 1968); University of Dublin (Trinity College), Dublin, Ireland (12 July 1968); Laval University, Quebec, Canada (31 May 1969); Columbia University, New York City (3 June 1969); the University of the Philippines (11 April 1970); and Syracuse University (6 June 1970). He also received the following honorary degrees: Doctor of Divinity, The First Universal Church (11 May 1970); Doctor of International Law, Florida International University, Miami, Florida (25 January 1971); Doctor of Laws, University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut (23 March 1971); Doctor of Civil Laws degree, honoris causa, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, (30 May 1971); Doctor of Humane Letters, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (7 June 1971). U Thant retired at the end of his second term in 1971. He died three years later, aged 65, on 25 November 1974 after a long and valiant battle with cancer. His book, View from the UN: The Memoirs of U Thant, was completed in March 1974 and was published by Doubleday. It was reprinted privately in September 2005 and is now available in paperback. Copyright © 2009 U THANT INSTITUTE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All