The second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjld, died in office in 1961 and became subsequently one of only four people to receive a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. How did he die?
1961 United Nations Secretary-General selection ballot in 1971, and he stepped down when his last term in office ran out on 31 December 1971. Concerns about his health proved well-founded, as Thant died of cancer on 25 November 1974. 1961 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1961 to replace Dag Hammarskjöld after he was killed in a plane crash. After initial Soviet attempts to replace the Secretary-General with a troika, it was agreed that an Acting Secretary-General would be appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. Within two weeks, U Thant of Burma emerged as the only candidate who
Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (; ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. Hammarskjöld was the youngest person to have held the post, at an age of 47 years upon his appointment. His second term was cut short when he was killed in an airplane crash while en route to cease-fire negotiations during the Congo Crisis. He is one of only four people to be awarded a posthumous Nobel Prize. Hammarskjöld has been referred to as one of the two best