LINI, WALTER convention. The UN was envisioned as an international body that would serve as a deterrent to war and would also expedite numerous aid, scientific, and cultural functions. Lie was initially nominated to serve as president of the UN General Assembly, but he lost out to Belgium’s Paul Henri Spaak in January 1946. The more important vacancy of secretary general then occurred, and Lie was nominated by Soviet ambassador Andrei A. Gromyko. In February 1946 he was overwhelmingly elected the UN’s first secretary general, being endorsed by both the United States and the Soviet Union. The United Nations, once formed, had yet to solidify its administrative structure and functions. Lie proved invaluable because he resolved that the secretary general’s office must be positioned to profoundly affect the conduct of affairs. From his new office in New York City he laid the groundwork for such future agencies as the High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Court of Justice, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). His prior skill as a labor organizer and arbitrator proved essential in establishing workable rules and organizational guidelines. In many respects Lie got the UN on its feet and prepared it for the role and challenges that lay ahead. Lie assumed his role just as the cold war was entering its initial phases. Although the UN was dominated by Western countries, he trod carefully between Western and Eastern camps to promote objectivity. This became increasingly hard to do in the wake of Soviet misbehavior. Despite initial Soviet support, Lie was distrusted by Stalin who regarded him as little more than a puppet of the United States. Lie greatly resented the inference but he gradually came over into the Western camp after the Berlin Blockade of 1948, the communist coup in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet-inspired Greek civil war, and Soviet occupation of northern Iran. In every instance Lie used his usual tact and diplomacy to prod Russia into moderating its belligerence. He also worked against American resistance toward seating the People’s Republic of China. However, the North Korean attack on South Korea in June 1950 was a decisive turning point in the history of the United Nations. Lie strongly condemned communist aggression and organized a speedy vote in the Security Council to authorize a military response to the invasion. Furthermore, he did so in the absence of the Soviet ambassador to the UN, for Russia—as one of five permanent members of the
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Security Council—could have easily vetoed the measure. This maneuver greatly angered the Soviets and thereafter they worked diligently to undermine Lie’s authority and legitimacy as general secretary. When Lie’s first five-year term expired in October 1950, the Soviets blocked any consideration of a second one. The United States then made it clear that they would accept no candidate other than Lie. The ensuing impasse paralyzed United Nations operations for several weeks until the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to extend his term by three years. The Soviets then declared the vote illegal and vowed they—and the bloc of nations they controlled—would no longer recognize Lie as secretary general. Lie was then also assailed by U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused him of appointing disloyal Americans to UN positions. At this juncture, the secretary general threw up his hands and declared he would resign in the interest of promoting harmony. In April 1953 he was replaced by Sweden’s DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD and returned to Norway. Lie resumed his political career with the Labor Party and held various ministerial portfolios including mayor of Oslo, minister of industries, and minister of commerce. He died in Geilo on December 30, 1968. Lie’s tenure as the first UN secretary general was certainly capable and well-intentioned, but it foundered upon the rocks of cold war superpower rivalry. Further Reading Barros, James. Trygve Lie and the Cold War: The U.N. Secretary General Pursues Peace, 1946–1953. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1989. ———. “Pearson and Lie: The Politics of the Secretary General’s Selection, 1946.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 10, no. 1 (1977): 65–92. Gaglione, Anthony. The United Nations under Lie Trygve, 1945–1953. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2001. Lie, Trygve. In the Cause of Peace: Seven Years with the United Nations. New York: Macmillan, 1954. Young, Peter Y. S. “A Critical Study of Secretary General Trygve Lie’s Crisis Management.” Unpublished master’s thesis, Occidental College, 1978.
Lini, Walter (1942–1999) prime minister of Vanuatu Walter Lini was born in Agatoa, Pentecost Island, in 1942. His homeland formed part of the New