Dag Hammarskjold: Peace in Mind

Dr. Charles Peterson discusses the life and significance of Dag Hammarskjold 

  • Swedish professor at North Park University, Anne Marie Andreasson-Hogg, and student Taylor Wicklund discuss the life and significance of Dag Hammarskjold over dinner.

  • People of all ages listened attentively to Dr. Charles Peterson, dean of North Park University, as he spoke about the life of former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold.
    An exhibit featuring Hammarskjold has been on display at the Swedish American Museum for the last month. To conclude the exhibit, a lecture was held at the museum along with a soup and pancake dinner on Sunday, February 24.
    Peterson discussed Hammarskjold's book, "Vagmarken," published in 1963. He said, "Hammarskjöld had a true purpose and lived a life of significance and service." He did his best to protect small countries from major powers. Hammarskjold also formed the UN’s mandate to establish peacekeeping forces, something that became permanent in conflict resolution efforts. In "Vagmarken," he describes three major conflicts and their resolutions. The post-Korean war, Suez crisis and the Civil War in Congo were resolved in part by the UN.
    Hammarskjold had a particular strategy that was new to the organization. His strong suit was the ability to analyze a situation quickly, keep the facts in order and propose courses of action in order to finish the job as efficiently as possible.
    The former UN Secretary General was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "strengthening the organization," which he received after his death in 1961. Hammarskjöld is the only person to receive this particular award posthumously.
    “After hearing a bit about his life of significance and service, I am definitely going to dive into other knowledge concerning Dag,” said Taylor Wicklund, a senior Scandinavian and Global Studies student at North Park.

  • The Dag Hammarskjold exhibit was on display at the Swedish American Museum from January 18 to February 24, 2013.

  • The Swedish American Museum is located at 5211 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640. For more information on upcoming events, visit www.swedishamericanmuseum.org or email museum@samac.org.

  • Dr. Charles Peterson and Lesli Nordstrom discuss the life and significance of Dag Hammarskjold.