United Nations Medals - Dag Hammarskjöld Medal
About this award
The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal is a posthumous award for presentation to the families of personnel, both military and civilian, who lose their lives while in the service of the United Nations. The creation of the award was approved on 22 July 1997 by the United Nations Security Council. The Regulations establishing the award were signed by Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan on 1 December 2000, and came into effect on 1 January 2001.
The award is made of crystal, bearing the United Nations emblem on one side, with the name of the deceased and date of death on the other side. The name of the award ‘The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal’ is engraved around the edge, above the inscription ‘In the Service of Peace’.
The award is named for the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, who lost his life in a plane crash in 1961 in the Congo while attempting to negotiate a cease-fire between secessionist Congo forces in Katanga province and the non-combatant forces of the United Nations. Dag Hammarskjöld was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1961.
The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal signifies to the deceased's family and nation, and to all other participants in United Nations peacekeeping operations, that the community of nations honours and remembers the men and women who have died in the service of peace.
Regulations
The Regulations for the award of the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal can be viewed on the United Nations website.
Clasps and Bars
These are not applicable to the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.
Media Statements concerning the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal
22 July 1997 - United Nations Press Release SC/6398 - Security Council Establishes Dag Hammarskjöld Medal for Valour, Sacrifice of United Nations Peace-Keepers
22 July 1997- United States Mission to the United Nations - Press Release concerning the Approval of the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal by the United Nations Security Council
News Article concerning the award of the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal to a New Zealander
20 April 2009 - Aid worker posthumously honoured by United Nations
Further Information
Further information on the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal can be viewed here.
Useful biographies of Dag Hammarskjöld can be found on the Nobel Prize website and on the following educational website.