In the beginning of a new IGO’s life it may develop in ways unintended or unanticipated by its state founders. When the organization faces unexpected crises in a situation where the rules are still fluid, surprising new precedents may emerge. The people involved during this phase when the IGO is first established have significant room for manoeuvre and flexibility in interpreting what rights and responsibilities their positions entail. Trygve Lie was determined that the UN organization, and the UN secretary-general in particular, should be ‘a force for peace’ in the world. In the context of different political and security crises Lie took advantage of the ambiguity present in the UN Charter, and the vague but powerful potential of his own position, to insert the secretary-general’s office into new areas of UN activity. Through these actions he secured acceptance for new procedural norms and a more public profile for the UN secretary-general than that envisioned by the UN’s founders. The interplay of crisis decision-making, institutional constraints, and the individuals involved during this time thus built the foundations for the UN organization we know today.

In contrast to earlier scholarship on the role of the secretary-general which has tended to emphasize the contributions of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN’s second secretary-general, this book has uncovered and discussed the important foundations which were established during Lie’s tenure from 1946 to 1953. Despite the many precedents set during his tenure and his strong principled activism on behalf of the UN and UN Charter values, Lie’s contribution to the UN and the office of UN secretary-general remains largely overlooked and forgotten. Urquhart’s blunt statement that ‘Lie did not achieve any particularly notable political or diplomatic feats at the United Nations, nor at that time was he expected to do so’, represents the orthodox view on Lie’s contribution. From this perspective, Lie’s only significant contribution lay in ensuring the location of UN headquarters in Manhattan, New York, and in bringing on board some of the world’s top architects to design the new building.