Edvard Hambro | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hambro,c. 1971 | |
| 25th President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
| In office 1970–1971 | |
| Preceded by | Angie Brooks |
| Succeeded by | Adam Malik |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edvard Isak Hambro (1911-08-22)22 August 1911 Kristiania, Norway |
| Died | 1 February 1977(1977-02-01) (aged 65) Oslo, Norway |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Profession | Jurist, diplomat, politician |
Edvard Isak Hambro (22 August 1911 – 1 February 1977) was aNorwegian legal scholar, diplomat and politician for theConservative Party. He was the 25thPresident of the United Nations General Assembly (1970–1971).
Hambro was born inKristiania as a son of the politicianC. J. Hambro (1885–1964) and his wife Gudrun Grieg (1881–1943).[1] On the paternal side he was a grandson ofEdvard Isak Hambro andNico Hambro (née Harbitz). He was also a nephew ofElise Hambro, a brother of Cato,Carl Joachim andJohan Hambro, and from 1946 a stepson ofGyda Christensen.[2] In 1940 he married Elisabeth Raverat, daughter of theFrench artistJacques Raverat and hisEnglish wife, the artistGwen Darwin,[1] a granddaughter ofCharles Darwin. They had the following children Anne (born 1941),Carl Joachim (born 1944),Christian (born 1946) and Linda Hambro (born 1948). Elisabeth died in 2014.
Hefinished his secondary education in 1929, enrolled in law studies at theRoyal Frederick University and graduated with thecand.jur. degree in 1934.[1] In 1931 he chaired theConservative Students' Association.[3] In 1936 he obtained adocteur ès sciences politiques degree from Geneva'sGraduate Institute of International Studies[4] with the thesisL'Éxécution des sentences internationales.[5] With aRockefeller grant he studied abroad before being hired as international director at the Chr. Michelsen Institute in 1938.[1]
In 1940 Norway wasattacked by Germany. During thesubsequent fighting Hambro was aliaison officer for British forces in Western Norway, but later in the same year he fled viaLondon to theUnited States.[1] He was a guest scholar at theNorthwestern University from 1941, and secretary-general inNorse Federation and editor of their magazineNordmanns-Forbundets Tidsskrift from 1941 to 1943. He then returned to London to work in theNorwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-in-exile until the war's end. He was decorated with theDefence Medal 1940–1945.[3]
After the war Hambro specialized in international organizational work. He was a Norwegian delegate to theSan Francisco Conference in 1945, and led the United Nations judicial office until 1946. In 1946 he issued theCharter of the United Nations. Commentary and documents together withLeland Goodrich. From 1946 to 1953 he was a secretary at theInternational Court of Justice inthe Hague.[1]
He was then aresearch fellow at theNorwegian School of Economics from 1953, visiting scholar at theUniversity of California in 1958 and professor of jurisprudence at the Norwegian School of Economics from 1959 to 1966. Academic publications in the Norwegian language includeNorsk fremmedrett (1950),Folkerettspleie (1956),Jurisdiksjonsvalg og lovvalg i norsk internasjonal kontraktsrett (1957) andArbeidsrett (1961). He also wrote volumes II, III (spanning two books) and IV (spanning two books) in the seriesThe Case Law of the International Court of Justice together withArthur W. Rovine.[1][3][4]
He was also elected to theParliament of Norway fromBergen in1961, and was re-elected in1965. He served his first term in theStanding Committee on Justice, and then entered theStanding Committee on Foreign Affairs.[1]
In 1966, however, he aborted his political career to become the Norwegian permanent representative to theUnited Nations. He chaired theSixth Committee (Legal Committee) at the22nd United Nations General Assembly in 1967. He was the 25thPresident of the United Nations General Assembly from 1970 to 1971. 122 delegations voted for Hambro with 2 votes against his candidacy.[6] He underlined that "peace, justice and progress" will be topics during his presidency in which he wanted to strengthen the organization.[6] After his tenure as permanent representative ended, he continued serving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was the Norwegian ambassador in Geneva, toEFTA and various UN organizations. From 1976 he was the Norwegian ambassador toFrance.[1][7] He also served on the United NationsInternational Law Commission from 1972.[3] He died in 1977.[1]
Hambro was also a board member of theInstitute for Comparative Research in Human Culture and theNansen Foundation, and from 1960 to 1966 vice president of theNorwegian Red Cross.[3]
He chaired the appeals board of theCouncil of Europe, and was a member of the appeals board of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He presided over thePermanent Conciliation Commission for the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands, and was a member of theInstitute of International Law, thePermanent Court of Arbitration, and theFranco-German Arbitral Tribunal for the Saarland.[7]
He receivedhonorary degrees atBrandeis University,Columbia University,Luther College,Seton Hall University,University of Toronto,Wagner College andYale University. He was decorated as a Commander with Star of theOrder of St. Olav (1970), and received the Grand Cross of theOrder of the White Rose of Finland, theOrder of the Yugoslav Star and theOrder of Ouissam Alaouite.[3]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations 1966–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the United Nations General Assembly 1970–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Norwegian ambassador to France 1976–1977 | Succeeded by |
| 1940s | |
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| 1950s | |
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| 1970s |
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