Thant Myint-U | Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations, and the Untold Story of the 1960s
Fri 24 Apr 2026 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm
In 1971, U Thant was ranked as the sixth ‘most admired man’ in America – a remarkable achievement for a former schoolteacher from Burma. In Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations, and the Untold Story of the 1960s, award-winning writer, historian and conservationist Thant Myint-U traces his grandfather’s extraordinary rise from a quiet life in 1947 to becoming the United Nations’ longest-serving Secretary-General, and a global celebrity at the heart of Cold War politics.
Thant Myint-U reveals U Thant’s pivotal yet often forgotten role in some of the twentieth century’s most critical crises: confronting mercenaries in the Congo, helping to steer the Cuban Missile Crisis towards peace, and working to maintain a ceasefire after the Six-Day War. At once intimate, gripping and politically urgent, Peacemaker captures a golden age of international diplomacy – and asks what hope, peace and individual action might still achieve in today’s uncertain world.
In conversation with David Reynolds.
Venue: Old Divinity School
Duration: 1 hour
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Author Biography
Thant Myint-U is an award-winning writer, historian, conservationist and international public servant. He served for over a decade with the United Nations, including in peacekeeping operations in Cambodia and the Balkans and was an advisor to the Burmese government during the early years of the transition from military dictatorship. He lives in Cambridge.
Chair Biography
David Reynolds is the award-winning and bestselling author of twelve history books and Professor of International History at Cambridge University (Christ’s College). He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2005. His book awards include the Wolfson Prize and the PEN Hessell Tiltman prize. David has written and presented critically acclaimed films and documentaries for both BBC TV and Radio 4. He is an Honorary Patron of Cambridge Literary Festival.
