Trygve Lie

Trygve Halvdan Lie (July 16, 1896 – December 30, 1968) was a Norwegian politician. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Early life

Lie was born in Kristiania on 16 July 1896. His father Martin left the family to work as a carpenter in the United States while his mother Hulda ran a boarding house. Lie joined the Labour Party in 1911 and was named as the party's national secretary soon after receiving his law degree from the University of Oslo in 1919. He married Hjørdis Jørgensen in 1921; the couple had three daughters, Sissel, Guri, and Mette.

Career

Lie was editor-in-chief for Det 20 århundre ('The 20th Century') from 1919 to 1921. From 1922 to 1935 he was a legal consultant for the Arbeidernes Faglige Landsorganisasjon (named Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions from 1957). He chaired the Norwegian Workers' Confederation of Sports fro 1931 to 1935.

In local politics he served as a member of the executive committee of Aker municipality council from 1922 to 1931. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1937. He was appointed Minister of Justice when a Labour Party government was formed by Johan Nygaardsvold in 1935. Lie was later appointed Minister of Trade (July to October 1939) and Minister of Supplies (October 1939 to 1941).

An early admirer of the October Revolution in Russia, Lie once met Vladimir Lenin and gave permission for Leon Trotsky to settle in Norway after he was exiled from the Soviet Union. It has been rumored that Lie succumbed to Joseph Stalin's wishes to have Trotsky placed under house arrest, though historians can neither confirm nor fully deny this. Lie later ordered Trotsky to leave Norway when Trotsky violated his promise to refrain from political activity.

In 1940, when Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany, Lie ordered all Norwegian ships to sail to Allied ports. In 1941 Lie was named as Foreign Minister of the Norwegian government-in-exile, and he remained in this position until 1946.

United Nations career

Lie led the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations conference in San Francisco in 1946 and was a leader in drafting the provisions of the United Nations Security Council. He was the leader of the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations general assembly in 1946. On February 1, 1946, he was elected as the first Secretary General of the United Nations as a result of a compromise between the major powers, having only missed being elected President of the first General Assembly by a small margin. He gets much of the credit for securing the current site for the United Nations headquarters from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and establishing the offices there.

As Secretary General, Lie supported the foundations of Israel and Indonesia. He worked for the withdrawal of Soviet forces in Iran and a ceasefire to fighting in Kashmir. He attracted the ire of the Soviet Union when he helped gather support for the defense of South Korea after it was invaded in 1950 and later worked to end the Soviet boycott of UN meetings, though his involvement has only little to do with the eventual return of the Soviet Union to the UN. He was opposed to Spain's entry into the United Nations because of his opposition to the Franco government. He also sought to have the People's Republic of China recognized by the United Nations after the Nationalist government was exiled to Taiwan, arguing that the People's Republic was the only government which could fulfill the membership obligations in full.

He has been criticized for his failures to facilitate negotiation in the Berlin Blockade, as well as his failure to bring about a more swift end to the Korean War. His critics argue that he was under the influence of a select few in the UN Secretariat. He has also been criticized for his arrogance and stubbornness.

In 1950, over objections from the Soviet Union, the UN General Assembly voted by 46 votes to 5 to extended Lie's term of office. The vote was a consequence of an impasse in the Security Council in which the US refused to accept any candidate but Lie while the Soviet Union refused to consider Lie due to his involvement in the Korean War. The Soviet Union subsequently refused to acknowledge Lie as Secretary General and, having been accused by Joseph McCarthy of hiring "disloyal" Americans an allegation which he attributed to the pressing need for civil servants following the establishment of the UN Lie resigned on November 10, 1952.

After the United Nations

Lie remained active in Norwegian politics after his resignation from the UN. He was the County Governor of Oslo and Akershus, Chairman of the Board of Energy, Minister of Industry, and Minister of Trade and Shipping. He authored a number of books.

Though he never achieved widespread popularity, he earned a reputation as a pragmatic, determined politician.

Lie died on December 30, 1968 of a heart attack. He was 72 years old.

References

• Official U.N.S.G.biography

External links

• Trygve Lie Gallery in New York