The death of Dag Hammarskjöld

Abstract

Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations, died in a plane crash in September 1961 near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia when trying to find a solution to the secession of Katanga and the Congo crisis. The circumstances of the crash, which took another 15 lives, remained suspicious. More than 50 years later, a newly initiated private investigation has collected more evidence, raising doubts that this was an accident. This Briefing offers a summary background to Hammarskjöld's role in the Congo, introduces the initiative and presents the findings of the Hammarskjöld Commission.