William L. Swing

William Lacy Swing (September 11, 1934 – June 12, 2021)[1] was a diplomat and former United States Ambassador, and United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Under Secretary General. He was the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration until António Vitorino's appointment in 2018.

William L. Swing
William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration during visit to Indonesia, April 2013.
Born
William Lacy Swing

(1934-09-11)September 11, 1934
Lexington, North Carolina
DiedJune 12, 2021(2021-06-12) (aged 86)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Alma materCatawba College
Yale University
University of Tübingen
OccupationDiplomat

Early life and education

Swing was born on September 11, 1934, in Lexington, North Carolina. In 1956 he graduated from Catawba College in North Carolina (Bachelor of Arts). Four years later he received a Master of Divinity from Yale University.[2] He did post-graduate studies at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He was a Fellow at Harvard University from 1976 to 1977.[2]

He held an honorary degree from Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations and Hofstra University (Doctor of Humane Letters), and was an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford.

He spoke French, German, Afrikaans, and Creole.[3]

Ambassadorial posts
Swing, as Ambassador to Liberia, presenting credentials to Commander-in-Chief Samuel K. Doe, head of state and chairman, People's Redemption Council

United Nations

Western Sahara

Swing served as UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Western Sahara from 2001 to 2003. He was Chief of Mission for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Swing then led the MONUSCO (the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) (May 2003 - January 2008).[4] He was appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary General to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), with the rank of Under Secretary General. MONUC, now known as MONUSCO, is the UN's largest peace operation. The Mission is engaged in the peace process and providing security support to the country as it seeks to end armed conflict in the war torn eastern part of the Congo.[5]

International Organization for Migration

In June 2008 Swing was elected Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).[6] In early 2017, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed him to the 9-member High-Level Task Force to Improve the United Nations Approach for Preventing and Addressing Sexual Abuse.[7]

Swing's term as Director-General ended in September 2018. He was succeeded by Portuguese politician Antonio Vitorino on October 1.[8]

Awards

He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. In 2012, he received the American Foreign Service Association's Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy.[5]

In 2019, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, by the government of Japan.

References
  1. "IOM Mourns Death of Former Director-General William Lacy Swing". IOM. June 13, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  2. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. 1979. p. 580.
  3. "Biography: William L. Swing, Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo". 1997-2001.state.gov. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. "Press Release SG/A/836 AFR/622".
  5. "Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award 2012".
  6. "Ambassador William L. Swing Elected Director General of The International Organization for Migration". June 18, 2008.
  7. Secretary-General Creates High-Level Task Force to Improve United Nations Approach for Preventing, Addressing Sexual Abuse United Nations, press release of January 6, 2017.
  8. UN snubs US and picks Portuguese politician Antonio Vitorino to run IOM migration office. Deutsche Welle, June 29, 2018, retrieved the same day.
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