Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on Sunday led a ceremony to mark 50 years since UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjoeld died in a plane crash just outside the Zambian town of Ndola. The Swede was an architect of peace-keeping who built the first complex UN peace operations, Bildt said, and praised him as a champion of direct and discreet action to mediate crises.
"In summary, he defined the role of UN secretary general and set a standard for successors to aspire to," he told a small gathering at the site where Hammarskjoeld's plane went down on the night of September 17-18, 1961, in what was then the British colony of Northern Rhodesia.
Hammarskjoeld had been flying to peace talks to end fighting in the mineral-rich Katanga province in neighbouring Congo. Today, a small memorial stands at the site, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) outside Ndola. There is a camp site, a library whose roof is shaped like the wings of a descending plane, and tour guides who tell visitors about the history of the area.
Vice President George Kunda also spoke at the ceremony, calling on Zambians to pursue the same peaceful ideals that Hammarskjoeld preached as they head to the polls Tuesday for presidential, parliamentary and local elections.
"I would like to underscore the need for all of us to embrace a culture of peace that Dag Hammarskjoeld preached and pursued wholeheartedly," Kunda said. "As you all know, the year 2011 is a very important year for Zambia, as we are not only commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dag Hammarskjoeld's death, we will be holding tripartite elections on Tuesday, as well."
Hammarskjoeld, who was 56 at the time of his death, is the only UN secretary general to have died in office, and also the only person to have been posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.