UNICEF Executive Director H. Labouisse Photo, Bio & Meditation Group Programmes

Filed under Thoughts from the UN community. | Tributes and Expressions of appreciation

UNICEF’s second Executive Director H. Labouisse was appreciative of the Meditation Group at the UN activities and was able to participate in some of the programmes including:

‘Below are some Biographical Background and Photographs of Mr. Labouisse at programmes as well as a sample of correspondence with Sri Chinmoy and  the Meditation Group members.

Photo H. Labouisse Executive Director of UNICEF

Excerpt from October 1975 Bulletin : “Meditation at the United Nations”:

25th-anniversary-of-unicefs-trick-or-treat-1975-oct-30th/

On Thursday, October 30, children of the United Nations community and their parents were entertained by TV star Sonny Fox, Ashrita the Magician, Ms. Chandika Kapilika (Linda Serlin) of UNICEF and others at a Halloween party for UNICEF in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium.

From Remarks of  H. Labouisse 30 Oct 1975:

“I also would like, Sri Chinmoy, to express our very deep gratitude to you and your meditation group – and not only for this very wonderful gift that you have collected for us. You can imagine how many children will benefit in the world from this gift.

“Trick-or-Treat” started spontaneously twenty five years ago. And this is also spontaneous. This is a spontaneous, thing that has been started by this meditation group; it commemorates twenty-five years of “Trick-or-Treat” and it’s also a tribute to all of the world’s children.

And I want to just say how happy I am to be able to be here to participate in this and to thank you. I am grateful to you and all of your colleagues. “

 

UNICEF

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND   – FONDS DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L’ENFANCE
– UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

November 10, 1975

Dear Sri Chinmoy ,

This is just a note to tell you again how deeply grateful we in UNICEF are to you and the Meditation Group.

The Benefit Proqramme in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium on October 30 was a real inspiration to us all, and I am sure that it meant a great deal to the children who participated. It was indeed very thoughtful on the part of those who sponsored the gathering, including Ms. Agatha Pratt, Mr. ( Adhiratha ) Kevin Keefe and Ms. Merri Weisbrot, to commemorate 25 years of “Trick or Treat” in this manner.

I also wish to express our heartful thanks to you and to the many others in the Meditation Group for the contribution of $500, derived from the proceeds of the Bazaar the Meditation Group sponsored on 16 October. An appropriate receipt will be sent to you in due course.

I hope that you wilt convey our appreciation and thanks to all the members of your Group

Sincerely yours,

Henry R. Labouisse

Executive Director

Sri Chinmoy, Meditation Group

United Nations, New York, NY 10017

Bazaar at U.N. in honour of the International Year of the Child (IYC).

On 31 October 1977 the Meditation Group at the UN held a Bazaar at U.N. New York Headquarters in honour of the International Year of the Child.

Leader of the group, Sri Chinmoy, offered a silent meditation for the success of the I.Y.C. which has been declared for 1979.   Dr. Aldaba-Lim, Assistant Secretary-General, Special Representative for the I.Y.C., then spoke and cut the ribbon to open the Bazaar. Members of the Meditation Group sang Sri Chinmoy’s song dedicated to UNICEF. which has been requested by the General Assembly to act as the co-ordinating agency for the activities of the I.Y.C. > More text and ohotos

Bio for H. Labouissse

HENRY R. LABOUISSE

Executive Director

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

       Henry  Labouisse has been ‘Executive Director of UNICEF’ since June 1, 1965. He left the post of United States Ambassador to Greece in which he served from’ 1962 to 1965 to  assume this assignment.

       Born ,in New Orleans, Louisiana, in .1904, Mr. Labouisse graduated from Princeton University (B.A., 1926), and Harvard University (L.L.B. 1929). For twelve ¥ears he practiced law in New York City.

       In November 1941,  Mr. Labouisse took a Leave of absence from his law firm to enter the United States Department of’ State as Assistant Chief’ of the Division of Defense Materials, Later,  he served successively as Chief of  that Division, and other high-level positions.  He was appointed Chief of the Foreign Economic Administration mission to France in November   1944, and served concurrently as Minister for Economic Affairs at the American Embassy. A year later he became Special Assistant to Under-Secretary of State, William L. Clayton, and in July 1946, Special Assistant to the Director of’ the Office of European Affairs.

       In March 1948, Mr. Labouisse headed the mission sent to Paris by the State Department to help establish the Organization ‘of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). In May of that year, he also headed the U. S. delegation to the third annual meeting of the Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva.

       On his return to Washington, he served as coordinator of foreign aid and assistance in the State Department from June 1948 to October, 1949, when he became Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs. In September 1951, he was named head of the Economic Cooperation Administration (Marshal Plan) mission to France and remained in Paris until 1954 in the same capacity under the successor agencies, the Mutual Security Administration and the Foreign Operations Administration.

       Mr. Labouisse has been associated with the United Nations at three different times prior to his present association. The first was from 1954-58 when, at the request of Secretary-General. Dag Hammarskjold, he was appointed Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency5 0r ” Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Mr. Labouisse’s second assignment with an international agency came in May 1959 when, as a consultant to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he headed a mission” organized by the Bank at the request of the Venezuelan Government to prepare a report on the economic development of that country. Gn the summer and fall of 1960, h~ was granted a “leave of absence by the Bank to serve as Special Adviser to Dag Hammarskjold in matters conce~ the UN” force and representation in the Congo. –

       In January 1961, President Kennedy appointed Mr. Labouisse Director of the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) as well as director of the task force which pr~d the re-organization of the U.S. foreign aid programs, resulting in their consolidation W1th the Agency for International Development (AID). In ~962, Mr. Labouisse became United States Ambassador to Greece.

       Mr. Labouisse is married to the former Eve Curie, daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie. She has, in the past, been a lecturer, the co-publisher of a newspaper in France, and she is the author of two books which have been translated in many languages: “Madame Curie”, a biography of her mother, and “Journey among Warriors”, an account of her travels as a war correspondent to the battlefronts of World War 11 in several continents.

      Mr: Labouisse has one daughter, Anne (Mrs. Martin Peretz) and four grandchildren.

Correspondence  Feb 1979

 

 

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