Lie, Trygve, << lee,TRIHG vuh >> (1896-1968), a Norwegian statesman, served as the first secretary-general of the United Nations. He was elected for five years in 1946, and was continued in office for three years in 1950. He announced his resignation in 1952, and left office in April 1953. The Soviet Union opposed Lie because he supported the UN’s action in South Korea. Lie resigned hoping to lessen international tensions.
Lie was born on July 16, 1896, in Oslo. He brought experience and talent in handling political problems to his UN position. Lie had become Norway’s minister of justice in 1935. From 1939 to 1941, during World War II, he served as minister of trade and supply in the Norwegian government-in-exile in England. From 1940 to 1946, he was minister of foreign affairs. Also during the war, which ended in 1945, he helped manage supplies for the small Norwegian military force that fought Germany. In 1945, he led Norway’s delegation to the UN Conference in San Francisco, where he helped draw up the charter for the UN Security Council. Lie died on Dec. 30, 1968.
