Burmese diplomat
Sithu U Nyun (Burmese : ဦးညွန့် ; also spelt U Nyunt ; 20 January 1910 – 4 April 1996) was a Burmese development economist , diplomat and intellectual who served as the 3rd Executive Secretary as the head of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific .[ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
Early life
U Nyun was born on 20 January 1910 in Hpa-An , British Burma . He attended Basic Education High School No. 1 Thaton and graduated from Rangoon University in 1930, and also educated at Oxford University and University of London . He joined the Indian Civil Service on 4 October 1933.[ 5]
United Nations career
U Nyun served in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) and then as a senior civil servant in the independent Burma government , before joining the United Nations in 1953. From 1959 to 1973, he was the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations as the head of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), working directly under Secretaries-General Dag Hammarskjöld and U Thant .[ 6] [ 7]
U Nyunt served as the Executive Secretary and established the Mekong Development Project , Asian Highway Network , Asian Statistical Institute , Asian Industrial Development Council, Asian Development Bank , Asian Clearing Union . In 1966, he founded the Asian Development Bank , and was recognized as The Father of Asian Development Bank . In 1973, he retired from the United Nations as the head of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific .[ 6]
U Nyun was one of many trained and experienced Burmese Indian Civil Service and Burmese Civil Service officers at the time of independence.[ 6]
U Nyun on the cover of The Philippines herald in 1954
Personal life and death
U Nyun married Than Tin in 1935. He died on 8 April 1996 in Yangon , Myanmar . He is survived by his four sons and one daughter– Aung Nyun, Than Nyun , Myo Nyun, Hla Nyun and Marie Nyun.
References
