United Nations Posting
"In November, 1957, Aly Khan met President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan and was offered a service as the country's permanent spokesman in the United Nations, whose formal announcement was made on February 6, 1958."
As a member of the United Nations Political and Security Committee representing Pakistan, Aly Khan's brief U.N. posting was viewed with surprise by many observers, some of whom considered him "the Asian-African answer to Irene Dunne". An American movie star not known for her political skills, Dunne had recently been designated a member of the United States delegation at General Assembly, largely in recognition of her Republican fundraising efforts.
As The New York Times reported, "For most of the last twenty-five years Aly Khan has been busy building a name as a fabulously wealthy, hard riding, fast driving, restless man of the world with a liking for parties and beautiful women." News of Aly Khan's being named a diplomat was considered a startling enough departure in his history to result in a cover story in Sports Illustrated.
On 19 August 1958, Aly Khan gave his first speech before the United Nations. The Washington Post noted, "Prince Ali Khan, more commonly known as Aly, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Representative to the United Nations from Pakistan, stood up in the General Assembly and made his first speech. It was a momentous occasion, since the ambassador's previous public utterances had been largely limited to shouts of, 'Wine for everyone!' and 'Where are the girls?'"
He was elected a vice president of the United Nations General Assembly on 17 September 1958 and also served as chairman of the U.N.'s Peace Observation Committee.
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