Brian Urquhart

Sir Brian Edward Urquhart KCMG MBE (born 28 February 1919) is a former Undersecretary-General of the United Nations.

Urquhart was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.

He served in the British Army during World War II, as an intelligence officer. Urquhart is well-known for his attempts to persuade the planners of Operation Market Garden to modify or abort their plans, in light of crucial information obtained from aerial reconnaissance and the Dutch resistance. The episode was described by Cornelius Ryan in his book on "Market Garden", "A Bridge Too Far". In the film version, directed by Richard Attenborough, Urquhart's character was renamed "Major Fuller", to avoid confusion with a similarly named British General.

Urquhart was a member of the staff involved in the setting-up of the United Nations in 1945, and has advised every Secretary-General of the United Nations since its inception. His main fields of interest and operation at the UN have been conflict resolution and peacekeeping. Urquhart organized the first peacekeeping force (in Egypt after the Suez crisis). To differentiate the peacekeepers from other soldiers, the UN wanted to have the soldiers wear blue berets. When that turned out to take six weeks to make, Urquhart proposed the characteristic blue helmets, which could be made in a day by painting over regular ones. [ [http://zoek.volkskrant.nl/artikel?text=urquhart&FDOC=0&SORT=presence&PRD=20y&SEC=%2A&SO=%2A&DAT=%2A&ADOC=0 de Volkskrant - Archief ] ]

As Undersecretary-General, Urquhart's main functions were the direction of peace-keeping forces in the Middle East and Cyprus, and negotiations in these two areas; amongst others, his contributions also included work on the negotiations relating to a Namibia peace settlement, negotiations in Kashmir, Lebanon and work on peaceful uses for nuclear energy.

Alongside his autobiography "A Life in Peace and War" his writing with Erskine_B_ Childers includes "A World in Need of Leadership: Tomorrow’s United Nations — A Fresh Appraisal" (with Erskine_B_ Childers, 1996); "Towards a More Effective United Nations" (with Erskine_B_ Childers, 1991); "Ralph Bunche: An American Life" (1993); and "Renewing the United Nations System" (with Erskine_B_ Childers, 1994). he also co-authored with Erskine_B_ Childers the book "Renewing the United Nations System" which recommended establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly through Article 22 of the United Nations Charter. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_United_Nations#Article_22] [ [http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/intro/1995childers.htm Renewing the United Nations System - A Summary - UN Reform - Global Policy Forum ] ]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/UN/Urquhart/ The Visits of Sir Brian Urquhart] .
*Brian Urquhart, [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060901facomment85503/brian-urquhart/the-next-secretary-general-how-to-fill-a-job-with-no-description.html "The Next Secretary-General: How to Fill a Job With No Description"] September/October 2006 "Foreign Affairs"