Folke Bernadotte (Sweeden)1950-1960
When Folke Bernadotte was proposed by the British delegation to be the next Secretary-General it seems that there was something of a communal face palm amongst the Security Council members. Bernadotte was an obvious choice, as head of the Swedish Red Cross he'd managed to negotiate the release of hundreds of allied POWs from Nazi clutches, negotiating directly with Heinrich Himmler. While all the POWs were from the West the Soviet Union still respected him. And he'd worked for the UN before. When Israel declared independence and war had broken out with the Arab states he'd been selected as the United Nations Special Envoy to negotiate for peace. He'd first managed to get a truce and come up with a plan for peace. The Bernadotte Plan was unpopular for both sides, Israel because it called for International control of Jerusalem as well as their evacuating of the Negev area and areas to the north. The Arabs disliked it because it denied them Jerusalem and let Israel exist. But Bernadotte had managed to overcome their opposition as well as President Truman's and set up a peace plan. Sure the Jews living in Negev still refused to acknowledge Egyptian control and Jerusalem was run more by the Arabs then the UN, but a somewhat stable peace nonetheless. So he was obviously qualified to be Secratary-General.
Still the Swede was surprised by the invitation to become SG, though he graciously accepted. As the Korean War wound down he quickly became involved in the issue of POW removal and became a hands on figure in the Commission to decide what POWs to return home. His feud with South Korean President Rhee became notorious after Rhee called him a "communist stooge" for condemning South Korea's release of prisoners without clearance from the commission. He also negotiated for the release of captured American pilots accused of espionage, though it was the United States that truly managed their release.
When asked by a reporter about what role the UN had to play in the rapidly changing role he replied that "As of present, it is the duty of the United Nations to assist the lesser nations of the earth while attempting to convince the greater nations not to slit each other's throats." That statement summed up his tenure as Secretary-General. He focused on smaller, localized conflicts and kept the UN out of the Cold War as much as possible. It was under his tenure that many agencies well known in the UN first grew into the spotlight, things like UNICEF. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees was founded under his tenure, as was the United Nations High Commission for Prisoners of Conflict. The UNHCPC was a personal pet project of his, and he went on to serve as its chair after his retirement as Secretary-General. But it was not the agencies nor the charity to lesser nations that he is best remembered for. It is for two crises, both related to the death of the age of Empire.
The first was the complex Negev Crisis, which occurred just after he had been elected to a Second Term. Since the Israeli War of Independence the Monarchy of Egypt had been forced into a junior role with the military. Ironically only the face saved by Bernadotte's peace plan stopped a complete abolishment. But as stated before the peace plan was not perfect. Large numbers of Jews still lived in the Negev and areas further North. Virtually none of them recognized the authority of the Arabs. Which brings up another point, nobody was exactly sure who the area allotted to the Arabs belonged to. The UN Armistice had given the area to "The Arabs of Palestine" as an independent state. The Egyptians however had just occupied it. The General in control of the area, Gamel Nasser, was not exactly friendly to the Palestinians who lived there, preferring "true Arabs". This led to three competing groups, in addition to Egypt proper, where the powerful anti-West Military faction was planning something big. In March 1956 the King "abdicated" in favor of his young son, who was then placed under effective house arrest while General Muhammad Naguib became Prime Minister and effective dictator. Soon under pressure from nationalists and pan-Arabists he began a series of actions that angered the west, mostly involving the purchase of weapons from the Soviet Union. The growing conflict blew open with the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the blocking of it to Israeli shipping. This angered both Israel and England and France, the largest share holders in the Suez Canal.
Then a Jewish uprising blew the whole thing up.
With the Negev uprising and the subsequent moves by General Nasser to crush it war became inevitable. And so in March 1956, as Egyptian tanks fired on Jewish settlements Israeli Defense Forces crossed the border. Quickly it was apparent that Israel was not alone in the fight. While Britain and France had endorsed resolutions for peace at the UN they issued an ultimatum: Make peace or face their intervention. When both sides failed to do so they seized the Suez Canal and started bombing Egyptian cities. It soon became apparent that a joint plan between the UK, France and Israel had been in place for quite some time. However things began to go askew soon thereafter. When Franco-British troops arrived they found the Canal blocked by Egyptian sabotage. Israel advanced rapidly, but could not link up with their allies as Egyptian resolve stiffened and they faced resistance from Palestinians. But the whole fiasco was topped off in the UN. Britain and France found themselves under attack by Third World Countries as well as the United States. As the crisis dragged on the war ground on. Then Bernadotte stepped in with his old tricks. With Britain and France on the verge of economic collapse due to the Unites State's refusal to back their adventure he offered them a way out. The "peacekeeping" role the French and British played would be replaced by the first ever UN Force, the United Nations Crisis Force (UNCF). The multinational expedition would temporarily hold the Canal before giving it back to Egypt. They would also patrol the border between Israel and Egypt, though no one could really figure out where it was. The pre-war boundary was obviously not workable, and the current front lines wouldn't do either. In the end Egypt, now ruled by one President Naguib, was forced to cede everything in former Palestine except the Gaza Strip and Negev proper. The final touch to the act was the appointment of African-American Ralph Bunche, an old aide from the original peace settlement, as the Governor-General of Jerusalem. Since the start of "international" control the Holy City had become a dangerous no-man's land with the Arabs controlling most of it. Bunche would work tirelessly to reform the city and turn it into the prosperous area we know today. All in all the Negev Crisis was accepted as a success for the UN. The Congo Crisis would not be.
As Belgium prepared to withdraw from Congo in 1960 tensions flared up. Even after the withdrawal whites would still have much of the power in the new nation, as the Force Publique still was the only effective military force and technicians were overwhelmingly white. The future was set on Independence Day when the Belgian king called it the end of the "civilizing mission" started by Leopold II while Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba went on a long and rambling rant against colonialism. Soon after the formal independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo a large mutiny erupted in the Force Publique against the primarily white officers. Soon Belgian paratroopers were present in white communities. This action divided the Congolese government, Lumumba, now Prime Minister, opposed it, while President Kasa-Vubu accepted it. Soon Katanga and South Kasai, areas with heavy mining interests declared independence with Belgian support. So the UN was called to intervene with the multinational ONUC. Lumumba hoped that it would crush the rebels for him but Bernadotte, always the negotiator, refused and it simply kept the peace. So Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union, who agreed to supply him. This led to an American backing of anti-Lumumba groups and got him dismissed by the Prime Minister, Lumumba attempted to lash back but a coup led by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu put him under house arrest. Soon a rival government rose up in Stanleyville with the backing of the Soviet advisors. Bernadotte still refused to do anything. Then Lumumba escaped and managed to get to Stanleyville where he was "appointed" President of the Congolese State. UN Peacekeepers still proved unable to do anything. After an attempted peace failed Mobutu, through puppets in Leopoldville, declared open warfare, backed by the United States. Katanga remained defiant, though South Kasai fell under the control of Mobutu. By this point it had become apparent that the superpowers were turning their eyes on the Congo, destroying the UN's ability to intervene. With his reputation going down the drain as the situation spiraled out of control Bernadotte declined to run for a third term. Leaving the conclusion to the Congo Crisis to his successor.
