Current UN Secretary-General Ban Praises Burmese former UN Secretary-General U Thant

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute on Wednesday to the memory of one of his predecessors, Burma’s U Thant, who held the secretary-general position from 1961 to 1971.

The centenary of U Thant’s birth was marked at the UN headquarters in New York. The event was organized by the U Thant Institute, the UN Office for Partnerships and the UN Department of Public Information.

Ban said, “It is a sad irony that U Thant’s vision of democracy has not been realized in his own country. That is why I would like to visit Burma again this year. This quiet diplomat worked hard for the principles of the United Nations.”

Ban recalled he took the opportunity to visit the U Thant mausoleum in Rangoon to pay respects during his mission to Burma last year.

Ban said U Thant oversaw the organization’s growth and helped lay the foundations for what is now known as “sustainable development.”

He said U Thant provided the seeds for the UN University and the institute that bears his name, which is built on the concept of “One World.”

“The crises of the past year—the food crisis, the energy crisis, the financial crisis and the economic crisis—emphasized the interconnections of our “One World,” said Ban.

Ban praised U Thant, the first Asian to hold the position of UN secretary-general, for his commitment toward world peace and his efforts in defusing Cold War tensions.

As the third secretary-general of the UN, U Thant established many of the world body’s development and environmental agencies, funds and programs, including the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN University, the UN Institute for Training and Research, and the UN Environmental Program.

He died of lung cancer in New York on November 25, 1974.

Former Burmese Ambassador to China Thankin Chan Htun knew U Thant personally. “To become a good diplomat, one needs to be well-read, polite, calm, and be able to negotiate with others peacefully,” he said. “If diplomats act wrongly, it reflects badly on the country. So, the authorities need to select them specially.”      

Veteran Burmese journalist Win Tin said that U Thant was a successful UN head who solved problems peacefully and astutely. “He kept on good terms with people, and spoke calmly and sincerely,” he said.

“We should keep him in our memory. We should be proud of him and we should take example from his character and skill,” he added.