Seán Lester | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary-General of the League of Nations | |
| In office 31 August 1940 – 18 April 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Avenol |
| Succeeded by | Trygve Lie (asSecretary-General of the United Nations) |
| Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations | |
| In office 18 February 1937 – 26 July 1940 Serving with Francis Paul Walters | |
| Secretary-General | Joseph Avenol |
| Preceded by | Pablo de Azcárate |
| Succeeded by | Francis Paul Walters |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Ernest Lester (1888-09-28)28 September 1888 Carrickfergus, Ireland |
| Died | 13 June 1959(1959-06-13) (aged 70) Galway, Ireland |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Journalist |
Seán Lester (28 September 1888 – 13 June 1959) was an Irish diplomat who was the lastsecretary-general of theLeague of Nations from 31 August 1940 to 18 April 1946.[1]
John Ernest Lester was born inCounty Antrim in the east ofUlster, the son of aProtestant grocer, Robert Lester, and his wife, the former Henrietta Ritchie. Although the town ofCarrickfergus, where he was born and raised, was stronglyUnionist, he joined theGaelic League as a youth and was won over to the cause ofIrish nationalism.[2]
The family moved to Belfast when he was young and he attended Methodist College in the city;[3] after leaving school, he changed his name from John to the Irish ‘Seán’.
As a young man, he joined theIrish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).[1] He worked as a journalist for theNorth Down Herald and a number of other northern papers before he moved toDublin, where he found a job at theFreeman's Journal. By 1919, he had risen to become its news editor.
After theIrish War of Independence, a number of his friends joined the new government of theIrish Free State. Lester was offered and accepted the position as director of publicity.[4]
He married Elizabeth Ruth Tyrrell in 1920, and they had three daughters.[3]
In 1923, he joined theIrish Free State's Department of External Affairs. He was sent toGeneva in 1929 to replace Michael MacWhite as the Irish Free State's Permanent Delegate to theLeague of Nations. In 1930, he succeeded in organising the Irish Free State's election to the Council (or executive body) of theLeague of Nations for a three year term.[3] In 1930, he succeeded in organising the Irish Free State's election to the Council (or executive body) of the League of Nations for a three year term.[4] Lester often represented the Irish Free State at Council meetings and stood in for the Irish Minister for External Affairs. He became increasingly involved in the work of the League, particularly in its attempts to bring a resolution to two wars inSouth America. His work brought him to the attention of the League Secretariat and began his transformation from national to international civil servant.
WhenPeru andColombia had a dispute over a town in the headwaters of the Amazon, Lester presided over the committee that found an equitable solution; he also presided over the less-successful committee whenBolivia andParaguay went towar over the Gran Chaco.[2]
In 1933, Lester was seconded to the League'sSecretariat and sent to Danzig (nowGdańsk,Poland), as the League of Nations'High Commissioner from 1934 to 1937.[4] TheFree City of Danzig was the scene of an emerging international crisis betweenNazi Germany and the international community over the issue of thePolish Corridor and the Free City's relationship with theThird Reich. High Commissioner Lester repeatedly protested to the German government over its persecution and discrimination of Jews and warned the League of the looming disaster for Europe. He was boycotted by the representatives of the German Reich and the representatives of theNazi Party in Danzig.[5]
In August 2010, a room in the Gdańsk City Hall, the building that had been Lester's headquarters during his stay, was renamed by MayorPaweł Adamowicz as the Seán Lester Room.[6]
Lester returned toGeneva in 1937 to become Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations. In 1940, he became Secretary General of the body[4] (he became the League's leader a year after the outbreak of theSecond World War which showed that the League had failed in its primary purpose). The League had only 100 employees, including guards and janitors, out of the original 700.
Secretary-General Lester remained in Geneva throughout the war and kept the League's technical and humanitarian programmes in limited operation for the duration of the war.[3] In 1946, he oversaw the League's closure and turned over the League's assets and functions to the newly-establishedUnited Nations (UN).
Lester was given theWoodrow Wilson Award in 1945, a doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin in 1947, and a doctorate of theNational University of Ireland in 1948.[3]
Despite rumours that he would be prepared to stand for election asPresident of Ireland, Lester sought no permanent office and retired toRecess, County Galway, in the west of Ireland, where he died in 1959.[4]
In its obituary,The Times described Lester as an "international conciliator and courageous friend of refugees".
Lester’s diaries and other papers are held at the United Nations’ Archive.[1]
His granddaughterSusan Denham wasChief Justice of Ireland for theSupreme Court of Ireland from 2011 to 2017.[7][8]
In 2013, the Ulster History Circle secured a plaque for his childhood home in Belfast.[3]
| Positions in intergovernmental organisations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary-General of the League of Nations 1940–1946 | Succeeded byas actingUnited Nations Secretary-General |
High commissioners of theLeague of Nations atDanzig | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
