William S. Cohen

From his first days in Washington, William Cohen was singled out as a future American leader. In 1974, during his first term in Congress, Time magazine named him one of "America's 200 Future Leaders," and the following year the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce named him one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in America." This reflected, in part, the national prominence he attained as a freshman Republican in the House of Representatives. His reputation also took root as, despite the political risk it could entail for a freshman, he traveled to Thailand in 1974 to reassure a stalwart ally following the U.S. military withdrawal from Vietnam. In the process, Secretary Cohen established relationships that have flourished there and elsewhere around the globe over the quarter century since. In 1978, he was propelled into the Senate and was quickly asked to be chairman of the Armed Services Committee's Sea Power and Force Projection Subcommittee and the Governmental Affairs Committee's Government Oversight Subcommittee. He was also chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging and a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence for a decade, serving half that time as vice chairman. His experience and expertise led to his selection to serve on the "Iran-Contra Committee." His efforts on behalf of small business and early leadership in reversing federal deficits won him awards from the National Federation of Independent Businessmen and the National Taxpayers Union. Secretary Cohen's international expertise was recognized by his selection to the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1989 to 1997, whose Middle East Study Group he chaired. He has chaired and served on numerous other study groups and committees at CSIS, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Brookings Institution. He established and led U.S. delegations to the annual Pacific Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the American-Arab Dialogue in Cairo. Beginning in 1985, he led the U.S. delegation of senior executive branch officials and members of Congress to the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, which brings together senior government and industrial officials from throughout Europe and Asia. Secretary Cohen’s service in the House and Senate was marked by electoral success as well, as he was undefeated in six consecutive Maine elections. In 1996, he decided not to seek reelection, but announced he would return to private life to promote international business and, through his writings and the media, a more thoughtful public discourse on national political issues. He also launched the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce at the University of Maine. It was at this time that President Bill Clinton asked him to lead the Department of Defense, and he was confirmed as secretary in January 1997. During his tenure, Secretary Cohen held substantive meetings with foreign leaders in over 60 countries. He was born in Bangor and received a B.A. in Latin from Bowdoin College (1962) and a law degree from Boston University Law School (1965). During his 24 years in Congress, he found time to write or coauthor 11 works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. He is also an accomplished athlete, and while at Bowdoin, he was inducted into the New England All-Star Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to the Silver Anniversary All Star Team, and in 2001, the NCAA presented him with its Theodore Roosevelt Award. Secretary Cohen is currently a member of the Board of Directors of CBS Corporation.