Politics · Science · Literature · 1905–1961
Born: 29 July 1905 · Died: 18 September 1961 · Age at death: 56
Dag Hammarskjöld died aged 56. He was born on 29 July 1905 and died on 18 September 1961.
Swedish diplomat who served as the second UN Secretary-General and was killed in a plane crash, winning a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize
Did you know?He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously after dying in a plane crash.
Dag Hammarskjöld turned the job of UN Secretary-General into a real force in world affairs. A quiet Swedish economist, he was expected to be a cautious administrator. Instead he flew to Beijing in 1955 and won the release of captured American airmen. During the Suez Crisis he created the first armed UN peacekeeping force. He believed the UN should protect small nations, not just serve the powerful. He died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia while on a peace mission to the Congo. He remains the only person awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after death.
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( HAM-ər-shuuld; Swedish:; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961.
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Profile
Swedish diplomat, 1905–1961
Dag Hammarskjöld was born in Jönköping on 29 July 1905.
He became UN Secretary-General in 1953.
He created the first UN peacekeeping force in 1956.
He died in a plane crash near Ndola in 1961.
Career highlights
Did you know?His spiritual diary Markings was published after his death.
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Last reviewed: October 2026