"Our motto is to work for peace based on social
justice. Our mandate is to improve the condition, health and safety of workers,
and our mission is universal."
A world-embracing
humanitarian and civil servant, an impassioned foe of poverty and
discrimination, he forged ever higher international standards in the unending
quest for peace, freedom and employment. A brilliant and compassionate
attorney, his career soared from the Roosevelt Administration of the 1930s, to
Under Secretary of Labor in 1948, to a record 22 years as Director-General of
the International Labor Organization, the oldest Specialized Agency of the
United Nations. In 1969, as a result of his inspired leadership, the ILO was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
