William Lacy Swing (September 11, 1934 – June 12, 2021) was a diplomat and former United States Ambassador, and

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 ...

Special Representative of the Secretary-General A special representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical huma ...

and Under Secretary General. He was the Director-General of the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for Human migration, migrants, including internally displa ...

until António Vitorino's appointment in 2018.

Early life and education

Swing was born on September 11, 1934, in

Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat of Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a population of 19,632. It is located in central North Carolina, south of Winston-Salem, North Caroli ...

. In 1956 he graduated from Catawba College in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

). Four years later he received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He did post-graduate studies at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

in Germany. He was a Fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1976 to 1977. He held an honorary degree from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations, a for-profit business whose lack of university accreditation has put it under the spotlight of the news media, and

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

( Doctor of Humane Letters), and was an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford. He spoke French, German, Afrikaans, and Creole.

Ambassadorial posts

* United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of the Congo (1979–81) *

United States Ambassador to Liberia This is a record of ambassadors of the United States to Liberia. Liberia, as a nation, had its beginnings in 1821 when groups of free blacks from the United States emigrated from the U.S. and began establishing colonies on the coast under the ...

(1981–85) * United States Ambassador to South Africa (1989–92) *

United States Ambassador to Nigeria The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Nigeria. Ambassadors Notes See also *Nigeria – United States relations *Foreign relations of Nigeria *Ambassadors of the United States ReferencesUnited States Department of State: Bac ...

(1992–93) * United States Ambassador to Haiti (1993–98) * United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1998–2001)

United Nations

Western Sahara

Swing served as UN

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

from 2001 to 2003. He was Chief of Mission for the

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (; ; ; MINURSO) is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement P ...

(MINURSO).

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Swing then led the

MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO (an acronym based on its French name ), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A planned withdraw ...

(the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) (May 2003 - January 2008). 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.

International Organization for Migration

In June 2008 Swing was elected Director-General of the

(IOM). In early 2017,

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

appointed him to the 9-member High-Level Task Force to Improve the United Nations Approach for Preventing and Addressing Sexual Abuse. Swing's term as Director-General ended in September 2018. He was succeeded by Portuguese politician Antonio Vitorino on October 1.
UN snubs US and picks Portuguese politician Antonio Vitorino to run IOM migration office.
'

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

, June 29, 2018, retrieved the same day.

Awards

He was a member of the

American Academy of Diplomacy The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy. ...

. In 2012, he received the

American Foreign Service Association The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 due-paying members, AFSA represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees ...

's Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy. In 2019, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, by the government of Japan.

References

External links

*
Foreign Service Journal article on his Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swing, William Lacy 1934 births 2021 deaths People from Lexington, North Carolina Catawba College alumni Yale Divinity School alumni University of Tübingen alumni American expatriates in Germany American expatriates in Western Sahara Harvard Fellows Politics of Western Sahara United Nations peacekeeping Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations American officials of the United Nations United States Foreign Service personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti Ambassadors of the United States to Liberia Ambassadors of the United States to Nigeria Ambassadors of the United States to South Africa Ambassadors of the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of the Congo Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats 20th-century United States government officials 21st-century United States government officials Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations