Thor's gavel (), also known as , is a ceremonial

gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...

, designed by sculptor

Ásmundur Sveinsson Ásmundur Sveinsson (20 May 1893 – 9 December 1982) was an Icelandic sculptor, whose works include “ Thor's gavel”, the ornate gavel used by the President of United Nations General Assembly. Early years Ásmundur Sveinsson was born in Kol ...

, and originally given by

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and delivered to the

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

by ambassador

Thor Thors Thor Thors (26 November 1903 – 11 January 1965) was an Icelandic lawyer, ambassador in the US, and Iceland's first Permanent Representative at the United Nations. He was the son of Thor Jensen, the influential entrepreneur, counting among his ...

in 1952. It is engraved with the phrase "''Society must be built on the basis of laws''" (Icelandic: Með lögum skal land byggja) in both Icelandic and Latin. It is used by the

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

and at the end of the General Assembly the gavel is ceremoniously passed from the current President to the next President. The first version of the gavel was used until 12 October 1960 when Assembly President

Frederick Boland Frederick Henry Boland (11 January 1904 – 4 December 1985) was an Irish diplomat who served as the first Irish Ambassador to both the United Kingdom and the United Nations. Family and education Frederick Boland was born on 11 January 1904 ...

slammed it down so hard that the head broke off and went flying during

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

shoe-banging incident During the 902nd Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York City on 12 October 1960, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was alleged to have pounded his shoe on his delegat ...

. An exact copy of the gavel, made by Jón Benediktsson, was given to the United Nations in 1961 and served the General Assembly until its disappearance in 2005. The third edition of the gavel was made by Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir (Sigga á Grund) and given to the UN in 2005. During the

seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly The Seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly was a session of the United Nations General Assembly that convened from 5 September 2023 to 9 September 2024. The President of the General Assembly is from Latin American and Caribb ...

, the gavel broke once again.

References

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External links

Thor's gavel
on

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Hammers United Nations General Assembly