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432:. In 1930, he succeeded in organising Ireland's election to the Council (or executive body) of the League of Nations for a three years. Lester often represented Ireland at Council meetings and stood in for the Minister for External Affairs. He became increasingly involved in the work of the League, particularly in its attempts to bring a resolution to two wars in South America. His work brought him to the attention of the League Secretariat and began his transformation from national to international civil servant.
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Lester remained in Geneva throughout the war and kept the League's technical and humanitarian programs in limited operation for the duration of the war. In 1946, he oversaw the League's closure and turned over the League's assets and functions to the newly-established
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483:. Lester repeatedly protested to the German government over its persecution and discrimination of Jews and warned the League of the looming disaster for Europe. He was boycotted by the representatives of the German Reich and the representatives of the
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had a dispute over a town in the headwaters of the Amazon, Lester presided over the committee that found an equitable solution. He also presided over the less-successful committee when
Bolivia and Paraguay went to
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Lester returned to Geneva in 1937 to become Deputy
Secretary General of the League of Nations. In 1940, he became Secretary General of the body (he became the League's leader a year after the beginning of
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which showed that the League had failed its primary purpose). The League had only 100 employees, including guards and janitors, out of the original 700.
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In August 2010, a room in the Gdansk City Hall, the building that had been Lester's residence during his stay, was renamed by Mayor
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Ireland and the League of
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The international civil servant: the League of
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described Lester as an "international conciliator and courageous friend of refugees".
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grocer Robert Lester and his wife, the former
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in 1929 to replace
Michael MacWhite as Ireland's Permanent Delegate to the
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biographical article from the producers of an Irish documentary on Lester.
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He married
Elizabeth Ruth Tyrrell in 1920 by whom he had three daughters.
350:(28 September 1888 – 13 June 1959) was an Irish diplomat who was the last
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The first fifty years: the secretary-general in world politics 1920–1970
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Despite rumours that he would be prepared to stand for election as
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Provisional
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The last secretary general: Sean Lester and the League of
Nations
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He was born in County Antrim as John Ernest Lester, the son of a
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League of Nations Archives, Private Archives of Sean Lester
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was the scene of an emerging international crisis between
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and a number of other northern papers before he moved to
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and the international community over the issue of the
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Sean Lester, Poland and the Nazi Takeover of Danzig
648:, Lester sought no permanent office and retired to
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
844:League of Nations Archives, with a short biography
194:Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations
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16:Last secretary-general of the League of Nations
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451:In 1933, Lester was seconded to the League's
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1345:Secretaries general of the League of Nations
711:A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition
402:. By 1919, he had risen to its news editor.
382:as a youth and was won over to the cause of
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854:Documents on Irish Foreign Policy website
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111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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206:18 February 1937 – 26 July 1940
186:Secretary-General of the United Nations
159:31 August 1940 – 18 April 1946
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639:National University of Ireland
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1244:Mervyn Sorley McDonnell
1063:Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
836:2 February 2017 at the
467:from 1934 to 1937. The
446:war over the Gran Chaco
709:Boylan, Henry (1998).
1304:Carl Jacob Burckhardt
1069:Boutros Boutros-Ghali
824:12 March 2015 at the
650:Recess, County Galway
633:Lester was given the
208:Serving with
646:President of Ireland
635:Woodrow Wilson Award
551:improve this section
247:Francis Paul Walters
210:Francis Paul Walters
45:improve this article
1268:Manfredi di Gravina
1208:Edward Lisle Strutt
963:Secretaries-General
673:from 2011 to 2017.
469:Free City of Danzig
776:Arthur W. Rovine:
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570:"Seán Lester"
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536:This section
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34:This article
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1032:Gladwyn Jebb
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505:World War II
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473:Nazi Germany
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291:(1959-06-13)
289:13 June 1959
242:Succeeded by
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177:Succeeded by
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43:Please help
38:verification
35:
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1330:1959 deaths
1325:1888 births
1292:Seán Lester
1081:Ban Ki-moon
1001:Seán Lester
981:(1919–1945)
747:Biographies
736:Irish Times
519:Later years
487:in Danzig.
481:Third Reich
453:Secretariat
348:Seán Lester
230:Preceded by
165:Preceded by
127:Seán Lester
1319:Categories
1089:(Portugal)
1075:Kofi Annan
1039:Trygve Lie
920:as acting
901:1940–1946
677:References
611:March 2024
581:newspapers
485:Nazi Party
405:After the
368:Protestant
362:Early life
337:Journalist
334:Profession
272:1888-09-28
182:Trygve Lie
101:March 2024
71:newspapers
1059:(Austria)
1003:(Ireland)
819:Biography
697:The Times
655:The Times
641:in 1948.
538:does not
298:, Ireland
281:, Ireland
202:In office
155:In office
1047:(Sweden)
1041:(Norway)
997:(France)
969:and the
834:Archived
822:Archived
669:for the
441:Colombia
376:Unionist
326:Children
1097:Related
1077:(Ghana)
1071:(Egypt)
1053:(Burma)
1051:U Thant
965:of the
865:of the
861:in the
595:scholar
559:removed
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1178:Danzig
1065:(Peru)
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665:was
574:news
542:any
540:cite
439:and
437:Peru
286:Died
262:Born
184:(as
64:news
1176:at
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