U Thant

U Thant (1909-1974) was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving from 1961 to 1971. He was born in British Burma as the son of a schoolteacher and raised in a village near Rangoon. He studied at the National High School and later at the Rangoon Arts and Science University. In 1930, he won a scholarship to study at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he earned a degree in economics.

Thant began his career as a journalist for The Burma Times and later served as the editor of the English-language newspaper The Working People's Daily. He also worked as a translator for the Burmese delegation to the United Nations in New York City. In 1954, he was appointed Burma's ambassador to the UN, and in 1957, he became Burma's permanent representative to the UN.

As Secretary-General, Thant worked to resolve the 1961 Congo Crisis, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the 1967 Six-Day War. He also helped to draft and adopt the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. In 1971, Thant was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his untiring efforts to bring the Cold War to an end and to ease international tensions." He died of cancer in 1974 at the age of 65.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in 1962, he said: "I am a Buddhist and my faith teaches me to live in harmony with others and to respect the beliefs of others."

A firm believer in the power of prayer, U Thant regularly meditated and chanted Buddhist sutras. He was also known to carry a copy of the Diamond Sutra with him wherever he went. In his biography, In Harmony with All Life, he wrote: "The Buddha's teaching has always been my inspiration and guide...I am grateful to have been born a Buddhist."

Throughout his life, U Thant was a tireless advocate for world peace. In his memory, the UN established the U Thant Peace Award, which is given annually to "an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of international understanding, peace, and cooperation."