East Beach


The Life of Robert Muller

Robert Muller speaks with Chou En-lai
Robert Muller speaks with Premier Chou En-lai at the Imperial Palace in Beijing. August 1972. UN Photo.
Prophet--the Hatmaker's Son. p. 34

Robert Muller (1923-2010) was born in a disputed area of Belgium in 1923 and raised in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, which endured political and cultural turmoil during his youth. His grandparents switched nationalities five times (French, German, French, German, and French) without leaving their village. Robert Muller experienced the degradations of World War II as a refugee, a victim of Nazi occupation, a prisoner of the Gestapo, and as a combatant. He fought with the French Resistance. After the war, he returned home and earned a Doctorate of Law from the University of Strasbourg.

      In 1947, Dr. Muller won an essay contest on world government. The prize was an internship at the newly-created United Nations in New York. He devoted the next 40 years to the UN, working behind the scenes on global cooperation to bring about a lasting world peace. He rose through the ranks of the UN to the highest appointed position: Assistant Secretary-General. He was nicknamed the "Prophet of Hope" at the United Nations. Muller was recognized as the "father of global education" as a result his "World Core Curriculum," which earned him the UNESCO Peace Education Prize in 1989. Dr. Muller was the founding Chancellor of the UN University for Peace. He concentrated his efforts on promoting greater global awareness. He was a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer International Prize for the Humanities, the Eleanor Roosevelt Man of Vision Award, and the World Citizenship Award from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Robert Muller Dr. Muller and his wife, Barbara Gaughen-Muller, lived much of the years between 1995 and 2005 in a farmhouse on the edge of a cloud forest overlooking the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica. He devoted most of that time writing 7,000 Ideas and Dreams for a Better World, in which he encouraged readers to see that humanity can achieve paradise on Earth. Muller was the author of twenty books, including My Testament to the UN, What War Taught Me About Peace, First Lady of the World, and Most of All They Taught Me Happiness. His most ambitious work, 7,000 Ideas and Dreams for a Better World, is a compilation of his life's work. Robert's biography by Douglas Gillies was published in 2003:
Prophet--the Hatmaker's Son. The Life of Robert Muller. Dr. Muller was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 22 times. Here is a partial list of his contributions to the UN.

 

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