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Decades of post-colonial chaos

"Veni, Vidi, Vici, numquam reliquit - ego adduxit inimici mei !"

stumbling block to the ideals of national unity, economic independence and pan-African

solidarity that Lumumba had championed, as well as a shattering blow to the hopes of
millions of Congolese for freedom and material prosperity."

"Patrice Lumumba: The Most Important Assassination of the 20th Century" 169
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja." The Guardian, (January 2011)
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Dag Hammarskjold

“ Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a
Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the
United Nations. As of 2021, Hammarskjöld remains the youngest person to have held the

Secretary-General post, having been only 47 years old when he was appointed in 1953.
His second term was cut short when he died in the crash of his DC-6 airplane in Northern

Rhodesia while en route to cease-fire negotiations during the Congo Crisis. He is the only
person in history to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

Hammarskjöld has been referred to as one of the two best secretaries-general of the

United Nations, and his appointment has been mentioned as the most notable success
for the UN. U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman
of our century.

***
On 18 September 1961, Hammarskjöld was en route to negotiate a cease-fire between

the United Nations Operation in the Congo forces and Katangese troops under Moise
Tshombe. His Douglas DC-6 airliner SE-BDY crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now

Zambia). Hammarskjöld perished in the crash, as did all but one of the 16 passengers,
who died from injuries a few days later.

***
The circumstances of the crash are still unclear. A 1962 Rhodesian inquiry concluded
that pilot error was to blame, while a later UN investigation could not determine the

cause of the crash. There is evidence suggesting the plane was shot down. A CIA report
claimed the KGB was responsible.

***
The day after the crash, former U.S. President Harry Truman commented that

Hammarskjöld "was on the point of getting something done when they killed him. Notice
that I said 'when they killed him'.

***