Hammarskjold: Fight for Peace

Nearing the end of his tenure, Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has won general acclaim for his way of handling crises and conflicts, guiding decolonization of Africa, and strengthening the UN against all odds during the Cold War. However, the newly independent Congo turns out to be a different beast. Its vast natural resources - notably uranium, at a time when the Cold War nuclear arms race keeps the two superpowers clamouring for it - keep mighty interests preying. Increasingly lonely, both professionally and privately, things are coming to a head for Dag Hammarskjold as the province of Katanga breaks free, and his desire to make peace puts him at odds with former colonists and other murky forces supporting the rebels, bent on destabilizing the region for financial and strategic gain, as well as with both superpowers in what is fast appearing to become a proxy war. Dag Hammarskjold and the UN are accused of being Communists - while the Communist Soviet Union is openly demanding his resignation. Things become even more complicated as the spouseless Dag Hammarskjold is suddenly approached by a friend from the past, reminding him of his ambiguous sexuality that has isolated him from all thoughts of having a family of his own. Moreover, 1961 views of such inclinations could easily cause a scandal that would end his career, and there is every reason to suspect a honey trap. Finding his only solace in secretly pouring out his heart into poetry, Dag Hammarskjold is under mounting pressure to act, but will make powerful enemies no matter what he does. Based on a true story.