Dag Hammarskjold

After the tragic death of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in 1961 his personal notes, Vägmärken, were translated into English and published in 1964 under the title Markings. The world was surprised that Hammarskjöld apparently had been a devout Christian. This article, seeking to present a spiritual portrait of Hammarskjöld on the basis of a fresh reading of the Swedish original and other material on and by Hammarskjold, argues that W.H. Auden’s introduction to and translation of Markings has presented to the world a skewed picture of Dag Hammarskjöld and his inner world. Auden’s foreword demonstrates a lack of understanding both of Hammarskjöld as a person and the incarnational Christian spirituality of Hammarskjöld. Auden’s flawed translational procedures as well as his habit of letting his personal life be reflected in his publications resulted in a misrepresentation both of Hammarskjöld as a person and of Markings, which Hammarskjöld had intended as his spiritual portrait for the posterity. In 2014, it is now fifty years since the publication of Auden’s translation of Markings. The shortcomings of Auden’s translation and introduction signal the need for a new translation and a new, fuller and more insightful introduction that takes into account all the new evidence that has become available in the 50 years that have gone by since the publication of Markings.

Chapter arguing that Hammarskjold should have listened to Lumumba!  And that because he failed to do so, not only did he also die in an untimely way, but the Congo was set on a path of neo-colonial pillage that continues till today. This is the final version we submitted, and a bit different from the final, edited version.

In this article, the author speaks about how a profession (job) can constitute a road to God and
can lead one to a deeper understanding of spirituality as the heart of theology, by investigating
the spiritual autobiographies of Teilhard de Chardin and Dag Hammarskjöld. While the
former was a Jesuit with important contributions to the historical field, the latter was an
important personality in the field of international diplomacy, whose contribution came to
light towards the end of the important crises that took place in the 1960s. Both of them left us
rich spiritual autobiographies in the form of a last published book (De Chardin) and a
manuscript discovered after the author’s death and published posthumously (Dag
Hammarskjöld).
Contribution: This article brings into attention two important authors of the 20th century
with different confessional backgrounds (Teilhard de Chardin was a Catholic Jesuit who
worked as an archaeologist and was recognised for his work by being elected as a member of
reputed forums such as the French Academy, while Dag Hammarskjöld, one of the holders of
the posthumous Nobel Prize, was a diplomat with economical and law studies and deep
theological concerns, which left to the posterity not only works from his activity field, but also
an extremely useful spiritual autobiography) by investigating their spiritual autobiographies
and showing how the profession they exercised led them to God and helped them deepen
their spirituality and theology.

This paper examines United Nations (UN) programs of technical assistance for public administration as a ‘technology of stateness’ during the postwar period of decolonization (roughly 1945-1965). Drawing on the wider modernization and development literature as well as original research in the UN Archives, the paper shows how the Public Administration Division of the UN’s Technical Assistance Administration connected with a larger network of actors interested in promoting public administration reforms in decolonized states, including other international organizations, private actors (including charitable foundations and professional associations), state agencies, and national elites. The paper further analyzes the rationalities and technologies advanced by UN technical assistance in this field, finding a complex picture whereby the advice given and actions taken by UN officials suggested both a tendency towards centralization of state of power and a movement of power away from the state. In doing so, the paper highlights continuities between postwar development and the ‘neoliberal’ practices of development management that emerged towards the end of the twentieth century.

La sicurezza collettiva è una delle istituzioni volte a mantenere l'ordine all'interno del sistema internazionale. Ha però dei punti deboli, oltre che punti di forza. È dai limiti della sicurezza collettiva che nasce il peacekeeping, strumento diplomatico utile a favorire se non la pace, quanto meno momenti di tregua dalla guerra tra stati. Viene utilizzato in particolare dalle Nazioni Unite al fine di mantenere la pace internazionale.

In my study I introduce the participation of the Hungarian and Soviet communist
chairmen at the United Nation’s General Assembly in 1960 in the point of
view of the international press. Before the analysis I introduce briefly the history
of the participation of Kádár and Khrushchev. I used The New York Times, the
Pravda and the Poeple’s Freedom (Népszabadság). I applied statistical quantitative
analysis on the number of articles, pictures, cartoons connected to the topic.
I also discuss the number of days what the two chairmen spent on the first pages
of these newspapers.
The results shows, the event was important in the international press. Hundreds
of articles were published in the newspapers and they delegated reporters to
New York as well. Most of the newspapers published articles every day since the
announcement of Khrushchev’s participation, but after the arrival of the socialist
chairmen to New York the event was on the cover page almost every day. The
newspapers published not just reports, but the text of their speeches, interviews
as well. The compare of the cartoons of the topic reveals the confrontation between
the superpower’s artist’s and the different style of the painting. For example
on the Pravda’s cartoons none of the figures are Khrushchev or Eisenhower. Comparing
the American and the Hungarian cartoons shows that, the Hungarian cartoonists
used the same negative representation towards Eisenhower, like the
Americans in case of Khrushchev. I also compared the Hungarian press with the
reports of the Hungarian secret police. This revealed the popularity of the Radio
Free Europe, because the Hungarian people knew that kind of information, what
the most popular newspaper did not even mentioned, like the protests against the
chairmen or the Khrushchev’s shoe banging.

In: Studia Vincentiana folyóirat 2015/2. Szent Vince Kollégium és Szakkollégium, Piliscsaba, 2015.

De tekst van de Quasimodolezing van 2016 met een aantal andere teksten. Naast de hoofdlezing van Zweedse aartsbisschop KG Hammar en het coreferaat van Carola Schouten bevat de bundel ook een inleiding op de persoon en het werk van Hammarskjöld door Joris Vercammen en de eerste Nederlandse vertaling van meditaties van KG Hammar bij teksten uit Hammarskjölds Merkstenen, geschreven voor het Hammarskjöldpad in het Noorden van Noorwegen.

The Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London in association with the Society of St John Chrysostom

Research Study Day --- Eastern Christianity: modern histories, theologies and contemporary contexts
-----
Kristian Girling, Heythrop College: "The Chaldean Catholic Church: A study in modern history, ecclesiology and church-state relations (2003-2013)".

Stefanie Hugh-Donovan, Heythrop College:  ‘Olivier Clément:
French Thinker and Theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church in dialogue with Western Catholic Thought on Ecclesiology, Theology and the Identity of Europe’.

Nikodemos Anagnostopoulos St.Mary’s College: “The development of the Ecclesiology and the Political Theology of the Ecumenical Patriarchate  of Constantinople and the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church in response to
Muslim-Christian relations in the contemporary context of modern Greece and Turkey until 2014’.

David Derrick, Heythrop College: “Kenneth Cragg, Charles Malik and Dag Hammarskjöld – some thoughts on the question of mysticism and the `public square’”

Peter Colwell, CTBI and Heythrop College: “Reflections on Arab Christian Political and Theological Thought in the modern Holy land”

Anthony O’Mahony, Heythrop College: “The Desert Fathers of modern Egypt: The Theological Exchange between Shenouda III and Matta el Meskin”

10.30 am to 5 pm on Thursday  14th January  2016
Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN
All are welcome.
Details from Dr John Flannery -  <j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk>
<www.heythrop.ac.uk> - <www.orientalelumen.org.uk>

Dag Hammarskjöld is considered as one of the 'best, most dynamic and influential Secretary General of the United Nations. He is one of the most pro-active diplomats whose lasting legacy was the focus on the quiet diplomacy, peace keeping and development aid. These three key features of the United Nations of today were the result of Hammarskjöld's ideas. His legacy in United Nations is considered as a beacon and legend for men who are seeking the road to international peace and security and a moral compass for international civil service. This article tries to capture some of his contribution of his signature 'quiet diplomacy' (informal private mediation) to resolve some of the world's worst crisis. Resumen: Dag Hammarskjöld es considerado uno de los mejores Secretarios Generales de las Naciones Unidas, entre los más dinámicos e influyentes. Es uno de los diplomáticos más proactivos cuyo legado duradero se centra en la diplomacia tranquila, el mantenimiento de la paz y la ayuda al desarrollo. Estas tres características fundamentales de las Naciones Unidas de hoy en día son el resultado de las ideas de Hammarskjöld. Su legado en las Naciones Unidas se considera un faro y una leyenda para aquellos que busquen el camino hacia la paz y la seguridad internacional, y una brújula moral para los funcionarios internacionales. Este artículo intenta captar parte de la contribución a su conocida «diplomacia tranquila» (mediación privada informal) para resolver algunas de las peores crisis que ha visto el mundo.

2011 jährte sich der Todestag Dag Hammarskjölds, des zweiten Generalsekretärs der Vereinten Nationen, zum 50. Mal. Der vorliegende Band dreht sich nicht um die bis heute ungeklärten Umstände, unter denen Hammarskjöld in der Nacht vom 17. zum 18. September 1961 nach einem Flugzeugabsturz auf dem Gebiet des heutigen Sambia ums Leben kam. Vielmehr geht es um eine kritische Würdigung der facettenreichen Persönlichkeit und des mannigfachen Schaffens Hammarskjölds aus der Perspektive des beginnenden 21. Jahrhunderts.

Dementsprechend werden zunächst zwei Eckpunkte beleuchtet, die Hammarskjölds Denken und Handeln entscheidend geprägt haben: einerseits seine schwedischen Wurzeln, seine Jugend und familiären Bindungen in Uppsala und sein beruflicher Aufstieg in Stockholm, andererseits das Amt des UN-Generalsekretärs und damit des »ersten Bürgers« der Vereinten Nationen, das Hammarskjöld zwar unverhofft zugefallen war, in dem er aber dennoch seine spezifische Berufung als Diener der internationalen Gemeinschaft sah.

Einer der Schwerpunkte der Untersuchung stellt das Wirken Hammarskjölds als UN-Generalsekretär und Staatsmann dar. Hammarskjöld verstand es, in geschickter und nachhaltiger Weise das im Generalsekretärsamt angelegte politische Potenzial zu realisieren und sich dergestalt gegenüber den Großmächten als relevanter Akteur auf der Bühne der Weltpolitik zu etablieren. Dies machte auch entscheidende Innovationen möglich, z.B. in Form der Schaffung friedenserhaltender Missionen.

Parallel dazu wird auch der Mensch und Mystiker Dag Hammarskjöld in den Blick genommen, wie er der Nachwelt namentlich in seinem posthum veröffentlichten Tagebuch Zeichen am Weg entgegentritt. In seinem Ethos des bewussten Einsatzes insbesondere für die Machtlosen und Vergessenen spielen religiöse Motive eine gewichtige Rolle. Erst die Ergänzung des äußeren Bilds des Pragmatikers und »UN-Generals« Hammarskjöld um die innere Dimension macht eine Würdigung dieser schillernden, ja bisweilen widersprüchlichen Persönlichkeit komplett.

MR. HAMMARSKJOLD'S death came at a moment when his representatives, troops under the UN flag, and the very organisation for which he gave his life were being pilloried in Britain in one of the most sordid episodes of pres- sure-group politics in recent years. It has been a clever campaign by two closely connected lobbies —Katanga, and the Central African Federation. The political circles involved-are precisely those that have always preferred traditional power- Politics to 'the United Nations; and now almost all perspective about what the UN was trying to do in Katanga has been lost.

Despite fourteen months of trying, Mr. Tshombe had failed to get himself recognised by a single government anywhere in the entire world—not even Belgium's. Yet the British pub- lic have been told almost daily during those months that 'President Tshombe has met the UN representative,' while the Algerian shadow Government, long after it has secured multiple recognition, is still being dubbed 'the so- coiled Provisional Government.'

Esta reportagem, publicada em dezembro de 2014 na versão online da revista piauí, descreve os novos indícios que levaram as Nações Unidas a reabrir, naquele mês, a investigação sobre a morte do secretário-geral Dag Hammarskjöld, em 1961. Inclui entrevista com o ex-agente da NSA Charles Southall e com Susan Williams, autora de "Who Killed Hammarskjöld"