International Postings
O'Brien came to prominence as a special representative to Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations, when, in 1961, Katanga tried to secede from what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Under pressure from a range of international interests, he eventually resigned and wrote To Katanga and Back (1962) which is still considered a classic of both modern African history and the inner workings of the United Nations. From 1962 to 1965 he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana. His interpretation of academic freedom differed from that of the Chancellor, and leader of the country, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Dr. O'Brien resigned. Following this he was the first Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities at New York University until 1969.
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