Kurt Waldheim

Brian Urquhart, a Revered UN Diplomat Across Decades, Dies at 101

• January 3, 2021

Brian Urquhart, who spent most of his adult life in service to the United Nations, died on Saturday, Jan. 2, at his home in Tyringham, Mass., in the Berkshires, where he retired after serving as one of the most notable figures in the history of the UN. In his tenure, he embodied the very narrative …

UN Diplomats

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WORLDVIEWS

Happy 100th Birthday, Sir Brian Urquhart, Heart of the UN

Stephen Schlesinger

• May 8, 2019

Sir Brian Urquhart has celebrated his 100th birthday this year. This is an eventful moment. Sir Brian is one of the most notable figures in the history of the United Nations. Urquhart has spent most of his entire life in service to the UN and, in his tenure, embodied the very narrative of the …

WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Sexual Harassment at the UN Is Alive and Persistent

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• December 22, 2017

As its people of the year, Time magazine recently named the Silence Breakers — people who have spoken against sexual harassment and launched the hashtag #MeToo into an international phenomenon with more than seven million hits on social media. Just before the announcement, more than 230 women who work in national security for the …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Secretary-General, UN Diplomats, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

Ban Ki-moon’s Travels: Escape Hatch or Act of Diplomacy?

Helmut Volger

• July 1, 2015

BERLIN — If you take a close look at the public schedule of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, it becomes evident that he travels a lot to member states, even more than his charismatic and most active predecessor Kofi Annan. Why does Ban travel so often? Some critics suggest that Ban wants to distract …

WORLDVIEWS

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BOOKS

Lonely at the Top: What It’s Like to Be the UN Secretary-General

Barbara Crossette

• April 17, 2014

There have been eight secretaries-general of the United Nations in the 68 years since the first of them, Trygve Lie of Norway, took on this unique global position. All eight — all men — have been very different in character and personality, in their cultural and political backgrounds and in their views of how …

BOOKS

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America and the West Should Invest More in the UN, Not Less

Kishore Mahbubani

• July 27, 2013

Institutions of global governance are weak by design not default. As Singapore’s permanent representative in New York, I encountered senior members of the American establishment who lamented the United Nations’ poor condition. The explanation was the domination by the poor and weak states of Africa and Asia and the poor quality of its bureaucrats. …