Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961), Swedish diplomat and mystic, lived a life of quiet conviction...

Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961), Swedish diplomat and mystic, lived a life of quiet conviction. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, he redefined diplomacy as service—to country, to humanity, to the soul.

Born in Jönköping, Sweden, Dag was the son of a prime minister and raised in the shadows of war. He believed, deeply, that public life must be grounded in inner truth. "Each day the first day: Each day a life," he once wrote.

His calm leadership transformed the UN into a moral and political force. In 1961, while en route to a peace mission in the Congo, his plane crashed. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

Hammarskjöld left behind Markings, a journal of spiritual reflections. It revealed a man in constant dialogue with God, struggling to serve with humility. "The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you," he wrote, "the better you will hear what is sounding outside."

His life was a meditation on service, perseverance, and unseen courage. His legacy invites us to listen, to walk with integrity, and to trust that the strength we need is already within us.