Maurice Pate (October 14, 1894 – January 19, 1965) was an American humanitarian and businessman. Pate served as the first executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) from 1947 until his death in 1965, after being proposed by the Chairman Ludwik Rajchman. Talking about the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Dag Hammarskjöld, its second

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

, said, "The work of UNICEF is at the heart of the matter - and at the heart of UNICEF is Maurice Pate."

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

called Pate "the most effective human angel I know" when introducing Pate at a UNICEF dinner. Pate was recognized worldwide for his efforts on behalf of children and hungry people.

Early years

Pate was born in Pender,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, to Richard E. Pate and Rachel Davis Pate, of Welsh and Irish ancestry respectively. He was the oldest of seven children, three of whom died in infancy. His family moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, when he was three years old. He graduated from East Denver High School in

, in 1911, then left Denver for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. At Princeton he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, worked on the undergraduate Red Cross Committee, and earned a bachelor of science degree in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in 1915, with high honors. He went to work for the First National Bank in Hartley,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, where his uncle was president, immediately after graduation and stayed until the United States joined

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After a great deal of persuasion, he worked for Herbert Hoover's Commission for Relief in Belgium, which began a lifelong friendship and collaboration. then served in the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

with the 29th Engineers in France. After the war ended, Pate helped organize and direct efforts by the

American Relief Administration American Relief Administration (ARA) was an American Humanitarian aid, relief mission to Europe and later Russian Civil War, post-revolutionary Russia after World War I. Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, was the program dire ...

to feed more than one million Polish children after the war. Pate worked for Standard Oil of New Jersey in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

from 1922 to 1927 doing financial and sales work. He married Jadwiga Mankowska, a Polish socialite, in 1927, managed Polish import and banking business, and returned to the United States in 1935 as an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

and businessman. Missing her family and home, Jadwiga divorced Pate in 1937 and returned to Poland, but the two remained friends until her death in 1960.

UNICEF

Upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, Pate led the Commission for Polish Relief, and later joined the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

as director of relief supplies for POWs in Asia and Europe. He conducted food surveys with

in 1946 and 1947 – 38 countries in 76 days – and the two men planned UNICEF. Pate joined UNICEF at its inception in January 1947. He agreed to serve as the director upon the condition that UNICEF serve the children of "ex-enemy countries", regardless of race or politics. Initially, UNICEF was charged with combating the threats posed to children in Europe from disease and famine after World War II. The growing concern about child welfare and survival rates in developing countries, either from disease or starvation, led to the establishment of UNICEF as a continuing agency in 1953. Under Pate's leadership, UNICEF implemented programs to improve maternal and child health using low cost, preventive health care measures. Considerable progress was made to eradicate

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...

, and

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

. Vaccinations, breast feeding for children and rehydration therapy for

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

were emphasized to improve public health.

Later years and death

Pate received many honors and awards for his humanitarian work. He received decorations from the governments of Belgium, France, Poland,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, received an honorary degree from

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

in 1956, and an honorary PhD from Princeton in 1958. Pate was awarded the Albert Lasker Public Service Award in 1959. He declined a nomination for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

in 1960 because he felt the contributions of the entire UNICEF organization should be recognized instead of one individual’s contribution. Pate married Martha Lucas in 1961, one year after his former wife, Jadwiga, had died. Lucas Pate was successively assistant dean of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

and president of

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in ...

(1946-1950), and served on the board of the United Negro College Fund and the national selection committee for Fulbright Scholars, and was active in

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, which had many concurrent activities with UNICEF. Therefore, the Pates not only had complementary activities but could travel together most of the time. Pate died suddenly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at Bellevue Hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on January 19, 1965, only a few months before he was to retire. When he died, UNICEF had more than 550 long-term programs and had helped over 55 million children in 116 countries. Nine months after Pate died, UNICEF was awarded the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize. Pate's organization, the Maurice Pate Institute for Human Survival, donated his property in Redding,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

to the Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center of Connecticut (now called Do Ngak Kunphen Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace) in 1997.

Maurice Pate Leadership for Children Award

The UNICEF Maurice Pate Leadership for Children Award, for "extraordinary example and exemplary innovation and inspirational leadership in contributing to the advancement of the UNICEF mandate for children on a national, regional and global scale," was established after his death in 1965 and is named in his honor.

References

;Citations ;Sources *Horton, Richard (2004). ''UNICEF leadership 2005–2015: a call for strategic change'' lectronic Version

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

, 364, 2071-2074. *Schott, T. E. (1981). Pate, Maurice. In ''The Dictionary of American Biography'' (Supplement Seven 1961-1965, 599-600). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

External links