Trustee for the Human Community: Ralph J. Bunche, the United Nations, and the Decolonization of Africa - Paperbackby Robert A. Hill (Editor), Edmond J. Keller (Editor) Ralph J. Bunche (1904 1971), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, was a key U. S. diplomat in the planning and creation of the United Nations in 1945. In 1947 he was invited to join the permanent UN Secretariat as director of the new Trusteeship Department. In this position, Bunche played a key role in setting up the trusteeship system that provided important impetus for postwar decolonization