Dag Hammarskjöld

Hammarskjöld, Dag (1905–61), Swedish politician, UN secretary general 1953–61. He was instrumental in negotiations to bring about a truce in the Korean War and a settlement of the Suez crisis of 1956. In 1960 he directed the UN intervention in the Congo (now Zaire). His actions were condemned by the USSR, but he refused to resign. He was killed in an airplane crash in the Congo and was posthumously awarded the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize.

See also: United Nations.