Secretary-General’s remarks at Memorial for Guri Lie Zeckendorf

 

This is the text of remarks, as prepared for delivery, by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the memorial service in New York today for Guri Lie Zeckendorf:

I am pleased to join you in remembering our friend Guri Lie Zeckendorf.  I did not know her especially well, but nonetheless I feel a special connection with her.  She knew, of course, what it means to be Secretary-General of the United Nations.  Not only because her father was one of my predecessors, but also because she worked so closely with him during his tenure.  I understand that she was also by his side in London, through thick and thin during World War II, when he served as occupied Norway’s foreign minister-in-exile.

Guri was not just a diplomat’s daughter; she was a daughter of the United Nations, too.  And as you all know, Guri was also closely linked to the land on which the United Nations complex was built.  Were it not for the vision and generosity of William Zeckendorf — and that of the Rockefellers — the United Nations might not have ended up with the site on which our Headquarters was built.  And were it not for the Zeckendorfs’ involvement in the transaction, Guri might not have met her husband-to-be, William Zeckendorf, Jr.

Which brings me to yet another connection.  As far as I can tell, Guri’s father and I are the only Secretaries-General to serve during a period when the complex more closely resembles a construction site!  Until we moved out of the Secretariat building earlier this year, the halls of the 38^th floor were decorated with photographs of the United Nations being built.  There was Trygve Lie — wearing a hard hat, holding a shovel, helping to move the process along, floor by floor.  I am sure his spirit, and Guri’s, are with us during the current Capital Master Plan renovation.

Their spirits were certainly with me last year when I visited Norway on my way to the polar ice rim as part of my efforts to sound the alarm about climate change.  It was very moving to lay a wreath at Trygve Lie’s grave.  And it is moving today to be with you in paying tribute to a cherished member of the United Nations family.

We thank Guri Lie Zeckendorf for her contributions to the life of the United Nations.  I offer condolences to her family and friends and all others touched by this loss.  At this time of sorrow, the United Nations mourns with you.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record