2005 Sweden 2000Kr Gold Coin "Dag Hammarskjöld"

• Mint: Nordic Coin (Mint of Sweden)
• Denomination: 2000 Kronor
• Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated
• Issue limit: 5,000 pcs.
• Alloy: 90% Gold
• Diameter: 26 mm
• Weight: 12 grams
• Artist: Ernst Nordin
• Box/Capsule: Yes/Yes
• Certificate: Yes

Dag Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in an plane crash in Zambia in 1961. He was posthumously awarded the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create peace and goodwill among nations and men.

Born in Jönköping, Sweden on July 29, 1905, Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld attended the universities of Uppsala and Stockholm and received his Ph.D. in 1934. The son of former Swedish prime minister Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, he entered government service in 1930 and became chairman of the board of the Bank of Sweden in 1940. Hammarskjöld performed many diplomatic missions, and entered the Swedish cabinet in 1951 as deputy foreign minister. For the next two years he served in the Swedish delegation to the United Nations, and was elected to succeed Trygve Lie as secretary-general in 1953. He was re-elected in 1957 and served until his tragic death.

During his tenure, Hammarskjöld greatly extended the influence of the United Nations as well as the prestige of the secretary-general. A quiet, tactful, and highly active diplomat, Hammarskjöld tried to soothe relations between Israel and the Arab states. In 1956 he went to mainland China to negotiate a release of 15 US pilots who had served in the Korean War and been captured by the Chinese. In 1956 he established the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), and in 1957 he intervened in the Suez Crisis. In 1960 he personally initiated and directed the United Nation's vigorous role in the Congo (Kinshasa), against the strong opposition of the Soviet Union. Hammarskjöld was on a mission to the Congo when his plane crashed in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) on September 18, 1961.

The reverse features a portrait of Dag Hammarskjöld in profile, as well as his name and anniversary year dates. The reverse features flickering flames and the legend "Our Path is Fire and not Ashes".