Ralph Bunche was a skillful diplomat who played a key role at the
United Nations during its early years.
His efforts on behalf of world peace won him the Nobel Prize in
1950.
Orphaned at age 11, Bunche was raised by his grandmother in Los
Angeles. He graduated from the
University of California at Los Angeles summa cum laude (with highest
honors). In 1934, he became the first
African-American to earn a Ph.D. in government and international relations from
Harvard. After teaching, for several
years, he worked in Africa for the U.S. during World War II. As a State Department officer in 1944, he
helped to organize the United Nations.
In 1945, Bunche became the first black to head a division of the
U.S. State Department.
Bunche began his 25-year career at the UN in 1946. Three years later, he negotiated cease-fire
agreements between Israel and Arab countries that had invaded the newly formed
nation. For this accomplishment, Bunche
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first black to win that award.
After leading other UN peacekeeping missions, Bunche became the
world body’s second-ranking officer, the under secretary-general, in 1967. Although his job focused on international
affairs, Bunche was also committed to the struggle of American blacks. Thought seriously ill at the time, he joined
the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to demand that
African-Americans be allowed to vote.