At the tender age of 31, Dag Hammarskjöld became the top civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, as well as Chairman of the National Bank of Sweden’s Board. From there he began a distinguished career as a Swedish civil servant in the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Foreign Minister in 1951.
During these years, Hammarskjöld played an important part in shaping Sweden’s financial policy. He led a series of trade and financial negotiations with other countries, and headed Swedish delegations to the United Nations General Assembly in Paris and New York. Although he served with the Social-Democratic cabinet, Hammarskjöld never joined any political party, regarding himself as politically independent.