On September 18, 1961, the plane of the second UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, crashed during a flight in the Congo.
Hamarskjöld's death caused a real shock among the world community, and the unclear circumstances surrounding the accident gave rise to the suspicion that the Swede was the victim of an assassination attempt.
This arose from the fact that after the end of Belgian colonial rule, a bloody conflict broke out in the Congo. A group of rebels, supported by Belgian mercenaries, declared the independence of the resource-rich province of Katanga. The UN forces were unable to deal with the conflict, and UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld flew to Congo, where he intended to begin peace talks with the rebel leader. A few minutes before reaching his destination, his plane crashed in the jungle. Pilot error or planned attack? Speculation has continued for over half a century.
In 1962, the official UN investigation into Hammarskjöld's death ended without any concrete results. However, the archives record that if new information came to light, the UN was ready to resume the investigation. In 2013, calls for an investigation into the disaster in Congo were renewed.
Dag Hammarskjöld is considered the most significant UN Secretary-General. He introduced standards that are still valid today. The UN Blue Helmets and special envoys are his merit. For his contribution, Dag Hammarskjöld was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.