Politics and Conscience

An accessible guide to the principles and vision of Dag Hammarskjld, a man John F. Kennedy called "e;the greatest statesman of our century."e;Dag Hammarskjld served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his tragicDag Hammarskjld served as secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 until his tragic death in a suspicious plane crash in 1961. During those years he saw the fledgling international organization through numerous crises with skill that made him a star on the international stage. As readers of his now-classic diary, Markings, are aware, Hammarskjld understood political leadership as an honor calling for resourcefulness, humility, moral clarity, and spiritual reflection.In this accessible handbook, acclaimed biographer Roger Lipsey details the political and personal code by which Hammarskjld lived and made critical decisions. What emerges is the portrait of a man who struck a remarkable balance between patience and action, empathy and reserve, policy and people. Structured through short sections on themes such as courage, facing facts, and negotiation, Politics and Conscience offers a vision of ethical leadership as relevant today as it was in Hammarskjld's time.

An accessible guide to the principles and vision of Dag Hammarskjld, a man John F. Kennedy called "e;the greatest statesman of our century."e;Dag Hammarskjld served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his tragicDag Hammarskjld served as secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 until his tragic death in a suspicious plane crash in 1961. During those years he saw the fledgling international organization through numerous crises with skill that made him a star on the international stage. As readers of his now-classic diary, Markings, are aware, Hammarskjld understood political leadership as an honor calling for resourcefulness, humility, moral clarity, and spiritual reflection.In this accessible handbook, acclaimed biographer Roger Lipsey details the political and personal code by which Hammarskjld lived and made critical decisions. What emerges is the portrait of a man who struck a remarkable balance between patience and action, empathy and reserve, policy and people. Structured through short sections on themes such as courage, facing facts, and negotiation, Politics and Conscience offers a vision of ethical leadership as relevant today as it was in Hammarskjld's time.