MORE than 50 years after he and 15 other people perished when a plane carrying them came down near Ndola city centre in still unclear circumstances, Swedish national, Dag Hammarskjöld, remains a household name.
The death of the former United Nations (UN) secretary-general on Zambian soil in a way helped put this country on the world map.
In his honour, Zambia even named a football stadium in Ndola after him. Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium is remembered to date by many people, especially soccer fans, as burial ground for visiting football teams because Zambia never lost a single match there.
According to soccer fans of yesteryears, the worst result the Zambia National soccer team recorded at Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium was a draw.
When the Zambian Government said it was building an ultramodern stadium in Ndola, the first thing most soccer fans thought of was the rebuilding of Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium, at its old site, only for the Chinese contractors to take it elsewhere to many Zambians’ disappointment.
All does not seem to be lost, however, because speculation is high that the much-talked-about new international airport near the Dag Hammarskjöld memorial site may after all be named Dag Hammarskjöld International Airport.
But as hopes of rebuilding the Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium at its old site slowly fade and more hopes of naming any national structure after this great man linger in many Zambians’ minds, the Dag Hammarskjöld memorial off the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway remains a tourist attraction.
Consul General for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Kanji Maloba Chantal yesterday thanked the Zambian Government for creating the Dag Hammarskjöld memorial site, which she said was caused by the warring parties in her nation.
Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge, meanwhile, said that the Dag Hammarskjöld memorial was the symbol of peace enjoyed even as Zambia this year celebrates its Golden Jubilee, and urged Zambians to celebrate the peace they have so far enjoyed.
The minister added that Zambia was an oasis of peace and opening up of the Dag Hammarskjöld heritage site through improved road infrastructure was a clear testimony of how the Patriotic Front Government was delivering on its manifesto to improve people’s livelihoods.
Indeed the Swedish diplomat, who was also an economist and author, is closely associated with the promotion of peace. In fact when Mr Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash on the outskirts of Ndola in 1961, he was en route to cease-fire negotiations in the then Zaire (DRC).
Former US president John F Kennedy is reported to have once called Mr Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century”.
He was the second secretary-general of the United Nations, who took over from one Trygve Lie in April 1953. At the age of 47 years, Mr Hammarskjöld was the youngest to have held the post.
The only UN secretary-general to die in office, Mr Hammarskjöld has since been one of just three people to be awarded a posthumous Nobel Prize.
During his term as UN secretary-general, Mr Hammarskjöld’s peace-building credentials included his attempts to smoothen relations between Israel and the Arab states.
History shows that other highlights were Mr Hammarskjöld’s visit to China in 1955 to negotiate the release of 15 captured US pilots who had served in the Korean War, and his intervention in the 1956 Suez Crisis.
In addition, Mr Hammarskjöld is given credit by some historians for allowing participation of the Holy See (Vatican) within the United Nations that year.
In Zambia, he has further been honoured through the establishment of the Dag Hammarskjöld Institute of Peace and Democracy at the Copperbelt University.
Mr Hammarskjöld was truly a peace builder and his death in Ndola may not just be the reason for his imposing memorial, but more so the respect this Swedish man earned himself world-wide while serving as UN secretary-general.