Kurt Waldheim

Kurt Waldheim, former U.N. secretary-general and president of Austria, died June 14 at his home in Vienna. He was 88. The longtime diplomat had been a controversial figure for his World War II role as an officer in the German army, and Vatican interaction with him in the late 1980s and early 1990s sparked criticism from Jewish groups. An Austrian government study conducted by a panel of international historians investigated Waldheim's role during the war and, in 1988, it concluded there was no proof he committed war crimes. However, it said Waldheim knew of Nazi atrocities and did nothing to stop them. Before evidence of Waldheim's military activities was published widely in the 1980s, he had served as secretary-general of the United Nations for two terms, from 1972 to 1981. He then taught diplomacy as a visiting professor at Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington for two years before returning to Austria. A global scandal erupted in 1986 while Waldheim was running for president of Austria, a mostly ceremonial post. Evidence emerged that he had not fully disclosed his activities during World War IIÑspecifically that he had served with a Nazi unit involved in war crimes in the Balkans. Despite the controversy and criticism by international Jewish groups, he was elected and served a full term as president of the country, 1986-1992. During Waldheim's term as Austrian president, Pope John Paul II was the only Western leader to officially meet him as a head of state. In 1994, Waldheim was made a papal knight for his service as secretary-general of the United Nations. Israel, which just months before had signed an accord establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican, expressed shock at the move.