U Thant

Biography

U Thant, born on January 22, 1909, in Pantanaw, Burma, was a diplomat, educator, and writer who became the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving from 1961 to 1971. He was the first Asian and first non-Scandinavian to hold the position, and he is one of the longest-serving Secretaries-General, holding the office for ten years and one month. Educated at the National High School in Pantanaw and Rangoon University, Thant started his career in education as a schoolteacher and later headmaster before entering public life. His calm nature and balanced political views, which placed him between strong Burmese nationalists and British loyalists during a time of intense political tension, earned him a reputation for being levelheaded—a trait that defined his career.

Thant's path to diplomacy was closely linked to his friendship with U Nu, Burma's first Prime Minister after independence. He held several roles in Nu's cabinet between 1948 and 1961, eventually succeeding James Barrington as Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. When Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in September 1961, Thant was appointed to fill the vacancy just six weeks later. His appointment was seen as a diplomatic choice that balanced Cold War tensions because both the Western powers and the Soviet Union found him acceptable.

During his first term, Thant played an important role in secret communications between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, helping to peacefully resolve the most dangerous nuclear standoff of the Cold War. Later that year, he authorized Operation Grandslam in December 1962, which ended the secessionist insurgency in Katanga, Congo. He was unanimously reappointed to a second term by the Security Council on December 2, 1966. His second term included strong criticism of American military actions in the Vietnam War, a stance that strained his relations with Washington but solidified his reputation for independent judgment.

Thant also oversaw the admission of many newly independent African and Asian states into the United Nations during a period of rapid decolonization, helping to change the makeup and priorities of the organization. He chose not to seek a third term and retired in 1971. He died of lung cancer in New York City on November 25, 1974. The Burmese military government's refusal to give him a state funeral led to widespread riots in Rangoon, which were violently suppressed by the authorities. He was survived by his wife, Daw Thein Tin. Among his many honors were the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1965, the Gandhi Peace Award in 1972, the United Nations Peace Medal in 1971, and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1973, along with an honorary doctorate from Laval University in 1969.