U Thant, who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, was chosen to head the world body when Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in an airplane crash in September 1961.
U Thant was born at Pantanaw, Burma on January 22, 1909 and was educated at the National High School in Pantanaw and at University College, Rangoon.
Prior to his diplomatic career, U Thant's experience was in education and information work. He served as Senior Master at the National High School, which he had attended in Pantanaw, and in 1931, he became Headmaster after winning first place in the Anglo-Vernacular Secondary Teachership Examination.
He was a member of Burma's Textbook Committee and of the Council of National Education before World War II and was an Executive Committee member of the Heads of Schools Association. He was also active as a freelance journalist.
In 1942, U Thant served for a few months as Secretary of Burma's Education Reorganization Committee. In the following year, he returned to the National High School as Headmaster for another four years.
U Thant was appointed Press Director of the Government of Burma in 1947. In1948, he became Director of Broadcasting and in the following year, he was appointed Secretary to the Government of Burma in the Ministry of Information. In 1953, U Thant became Secretary for Projects in the Office of the Prime Minister and in 1955, he was assigned additional duties as Executive Secretary of Burma's Economic and Social Board.
At the time of his appointment as Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant was Permanent Representative of Burma to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador (1957-1961).
During that period, he headed the Burmese delegations to the sessions of the General Assembly and in 1959, he served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly's 14th session. In 1961, U Thant was Chairman of the United Nations Congo Conciliation Commission and Chairman of the Committee on a United Nations Capital Development Fund.
During his diplomatic career, U Thant served on several occasions as Adviser to the Prime Ministers of Burma.
U Thant began serving as Acting Secretary-General on November 3, 1961, when he was unanimously appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to fill the unexpired term of the late Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. He was then unanimously appointed Secretary-General by the General Assembly on November 30, 1962 for a term of office ending on November 3, 1966.
U Thant was re-appointed for a second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations by the General Assembly on December 2, 1966 on the unanimous recommendation of the Security Council (resolution 229, 1966). His term of office continued until December 31, 1971.
U Thant received honorary degrees (LL.D) from the following universities: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada (May 25, 1962); Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (June 10, 1962); Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (June 12, 1962); Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts (June 2, 1963); Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (June 13, 1963); Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (June 16, 1963); University of California at Berkeley, California (April 2, 1964); University of Denver, Denver, Colorado (April 3, 1964); Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (June 8, 1964); New York University, New York (June 10, 1964); Moscow University, Moscow, Soviet Union (July 30, 1964); Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (May 22, 1965); Colby College, Waterville, Maine (June 6, 1965); Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (June 14, 1965); University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (May 28, 1966); Hamilton College, Clinton, New York (June 5, 1966); Fordham University, Bronx, New York (June 8, 1966); Manhattan College, New York (June 14, 1966); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (March 30, 1967); Delhi University, New Delhi, India (April 13, 1967); University of Leeds, England (May 26, 1967); Louvain University, Brussels, Belgium (April 10, 1968); University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (May 13, 1968); Boston Unversity, Boston, Massachusetts (May 19, 1968); Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey (May 29, 1968); University of Dublin (Trinity College), Dublin, Ireland (July 12, 1968); Laval University, Quebec, Canada (May 31, 1969); Columbia University, New York City (June 3, 1969); the University of the Philippines (April 11, 1970); and Syracuse University (June 6, 1970). He also received the following honorary degrees: Doctor of Divinity, The First Universal Church (May 11, 1970); Doctor of International Law, Florida International University, Miami, Florida (January 25, 1971); Doctor of Laws, University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut (March 23, 1971); Doctor of Civil Laws, honoris causa, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York (May 30, 1971); Doctor of Humane Letters, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (June 7, 1971).
U Thant retired at the end of his second term in 1971 and he died on November 25, 1974 after a long illness. He was 65 years old.
From the United Nations Department of Public Information.
