About Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) was a man of quiet, strong, unassuming faith. He was an important political figure in the twentieth century. He served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, when he died in a plane crash while on a peace mission in the Congo. He was born on July 29, 1905, in Jonkoping in south-central Sweden.
In 1933 he received his doctor’s degree from the University of Stockholm, where he subsequently served as assistant professor in political economy. In 1945 he was appointed an adviser to the Cabinet on financial and economic problems, helping to shape Sweden’s financial policy.
He was appointed unanimously as Secretary-General of the United Nations by the General Assembly in 1953, and served in that capacity until his death. During his tenure he was instrumental in fighting and helping to prevent injustice.
After his death the manuscript to the book we know as Markings was discovered in his house in New York with a note to his friend Leif Belfrage, saying that he had written this diary for himself but, “If you find them worth publishing, you have my permission to do so.” He called this diary his “white book concerning my negotiations with myself—and with God.” Thankfully, Hammarskjöld’s Markings was published, and has been a source of wisdom to many. W. H. Auden said of the book, “when one has finished it, that one has had the privilege of being in contact with a great, good, and lovable man.”