Everything about Trygve Lie totally explained
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 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.
Over objections from the Soviet Union, his term of office was extended by the General Assembly 46 - 5 in 1950. This was the result of a Security Council impasse, in which the US refused to accept any candidate but Lie, and the Soviet Union's absolute refusal to accept him again, due to his involvement in the
Korean War. The Soviet Union refused to acknowledge him as secretary general in his second term, and after having been accused by
Joseph McCarthy of hiring "disloyal" Americans (an allegation which he attributed to the rapid hiring of civil servants necessary after the creation of the organization), 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.
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