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UN sec gen U Thant. Image by Yoichi R. Okamoto-

Top 10 Interesting Facts about U Thant

U Thant was born on 22^nd January 1909 in Pantanaw Burma. He was the third secretary general of the United Nation and served from 1961 to 1971.

He studied teaching at Rangoon University and worked as a school teacher at a young age. His friend at the university U Nu who was the country’s first prime minister brought him to the limelight.

He served in the prime minister’s cabinet from 1948 to 1961. He was the secretary to the prime minister for six years before being appointed as Burmese permanent representative to the United Nation.

While in office, he carried out negotiations with the U.S president and Soviet premier during the Cuban missile crisis.

U Thant served for two terms and declined to serve for a third leading to his retirement. He was diagnosed with Lung cancer and died in 1974.

1. He was made a headmaster at the National High School at a young age

U Thant after completing his high school education enrolled at Rangoon University for a Two year Course rather than a four-year course degree.

He began as a schoolteacher in a national high school in Pantanaw and rose to be a senior master. He then participated in the All Burma Teacher’s Examination and won first place.  This led to him being appointed the school’s headmaster at an age of 25 a position he served for four years.

2. U Thant was Burma’s Ambassador to the United Nations

He headed the country’s delegation to the sessions of the general assembly and was one of the vice presidents in one of the Assembly’s sessions.

He was chairman of the United Nations Congo Conciliation Committee and also chairman of the Committee of a United Nations Capital Development Fund.

3. He was an author

UN secretary general giving a speech. Image by Eric Koch for Anefo-

U Thant started reading at an early age as his father had a personal library and was the only person in town who could communicate well in English. He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers and took part in the World of Books translation competitions.

He wrote in Burmese the books of the League of Nations, the history of cities, and Myanmar education. His speeches and essays during his time as secretary general of the United Nations were published as ‘Toward World Peace independent’ and ‘View from the UN.’

4. U Thant was elected Permanent Secretary General of the United Nation

On 3^rd November 1962, he was elected permanent secretary for a term of five years following the death of Dag Hammarskjold. He was the third secretary general and was appointed by the general assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. He served as the secretary general for two terms after being unanimously appointed for a second term until 31^st December 1971.

5. He mediated the Cuban missiles crisis between US and Russia

U Thant and John F Kennedy. Image by unknown author-

U Thant played a key role in preventing a nuclear war after the Soviet Union installed nuclear missiles in Cuba. The US and Soviet Union leaders engaged in a tense political and military standoff after the installation of the missiles.

He called John F. Kennedy, Us president to call off the naval quarantine of the Soviet vessel in the Atlantic. He then advised Khrushchev to turn around the missiles convoy and remove the missiles from Cuba. His intervention saved a potential catastrophe confrontation and calmed down Fidel Castro the then Cuban President.

6. U Thant failed to prevent the war between Israel and Egypt

U Thant at an airport. Image by Jack de Nijs for Anefo / Anefo-

His last years in office as Secretary General came with many challenges. President Nasser of Egypt demanded that the UN withdraw all the peacekeeping forces from Sinai, an agreement that prevented Israel from moving into Sinai and Gaza.

He flew to Cairo to persuade Nasser to withdraw his troops from Sinai and cancel his demand for the withdrawal of the peacekeeping troops. His efforts failed as Israel launched air attacks on Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. UN emergency force was the first casualties of the war and this is still a disaster for the Arabs and Palestinians that the world is still trying to resolve.

He declined to be re-elected for a third term in office

On 3^rd January 1971, U Thant announced he would not be available for a third term and he resigned two weeks before the end of his term.

U Thant unlike his predecessors retired after ten years and had previously declined to stand for a second term. He was later appointed as a senior fellow at Adlai Stevenson Institute of Internal Affairs after retiring from the United Nations.

8. U Thant loved to smoke

U Thant smoking a cheroot. Image by Joop van Bilsen / Anefo-

Despite the harmful consequences of smoking, he smoked a lot since when he was in Burma. He loved smoking Burmese Cheroots which contributed to his ill health during his last days in office and often out of office.

The smoking led to him being diagnosed with Lung Cancer and his early death two years after retiring from the UN.

9. He did not like to accept awards

Prof Wangari Maathai receiving a Jawaharlal Nehru award. Image by President’s Secretariat (GODL-India)-

Despite his work as a diplomat, U Thant was reluctant to receive honors and prizes. He declined Burma’s second highest honor awarded to him by U Nu’s government.

He only accepted two awards; the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding in 1965 and the Gandhi Peace Prize in 1972.

He received honorary awards from well-established universities across the world and in his memory, the UN meditation group created the U Thant Peace award.

10. His burial brought huge conflicts in Burma

He died on 25^th November 1974 and despite his honors, he was denied a state funeral. His body was flown from New York to Burma and was seized by anti-government students who buried it with full honors at Rangoon University.

No guard of honor or high-ranking official received his body from the airport. Tens of thousands of people lined the city to pay their last respects to the body where it had been displayed at the Rangoon’s Kyaikkasan Racecourse.

The students snatched the body to where it was supposed to be buried and was buried at a temporary mausoleum before the government troops stormed the university. The soldiers killed the students guarding the mausoleum and took his coffin and reburied it in Kandawmin Garden.

People rioted in the streets upon hearing about the storming at Rangoon University and the removal of U Thant’s coffin. The government later on issued a martial law in Rangoon and its metropolitan.