Skip to content
Photograph of Secretary General of the United Nations U Thant

Thant, U 1909- 1974

U Thant, a Burmese diplomat, served as the third Secretary General of the United Nations from 1961 until his retirement in 1971. In his role as Secretary General, he worked to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis and to restore peace in the Congo, Indochina, and in the Middle East. Prior to serving as Secretary General, U Thant served as Myanmar's director of broadcasting in 1948 and as secretary to the prime minister from 1951-1957. He died of lung cancer in 1974.

Photograph of Secretary General of the United Nations U Thant

Connected Conn.

Popular Documents

March 31, 1965

Record of the Second Meeting between Premier Zhou and President Ben Bella

Ben Bella and Zhou Enlai discuss a range of issues, including the Vietnam War, the Sino-Soviet split, the Second Asian-African Conference, China's status at the UN, Algerian foreign policy, and developments in the Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

October 5, 1966

Summary of Zhou Enlai's Talk with Ion Gheorghe Maurer, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Romania, in Beijing

Excerpt from the talk in which Zhou Enlai explains that China remains opposed to peace negotiations to end the Vietnam War.

October 28, 1962

U Thant's message to Khrushchev

U Thant expressed his consent at the Soviet effort to resolve the Cuban crisis and informed Khrushchev of his upcoming visit to Cuba. U Thant said that he was happy to know that the USSR had sent Mr. Kuznetsov to New York to work with him. Prospect of UN monitors in Cuba was also mentioned.

November 1, 1962

Telegram from Israeli Embassy in Havana (Prato), to Israeli Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem

Prato and Pinto discuss Brazilian efforts to pursuade Cuba to accept inspectors as well as what a potential U.S. attack would mean for diplomatic relations in the region.

October 29, 1962

Record of Conversation between Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Kuznetsov and UN Secretary General U Thant

Kuznetsov’s record of a conversation with U Thant discussing the dismantling of Russian weapons and the American quarantine.
View All Documents View Visualization