Cohen, William S. (William Sebastian), 1940-

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William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American politician, lawyer and author. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Maine's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979, as U.S. Senator from Maine from 1979 to 1997, and as Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

Born in Bangor, Maine, he attended public schools there, graduating from Bangor High School before earning a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an LL.B. from Boston University School of Law. After being admitted to the Maine bar, he commenced practice in Bangor. Cohen served as an assistant county attorney for Penobscot County between 1968 and 1970 and was an instructor at both Husson College and the University of Maine. He served on the Bangor City Council from 1969 to 1972, serving as Mayor from 1971 to 1972.

In the 1972 election, Cohen won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Maine's 2nd congressional district. During his first term in Congress, Cohen became deeply involved in the Watergate investigation. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, he was one of the first Republicans to break with his party and voted for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. After three terms in the House, Cohen was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978, defeating incumbent William Hathaway in his first bid for reelection. Cohen was reelected in 1984 and 1990, serving a total of 18 years in the Senate. Cohen developed a reputation as a moderate Republican with liberal views on social issues and has been described as "a career-long maverick with a reputation for fashioning compromise out of discord."

On December 5, 1996, President Bill Clinton announced his selection of Cohen as Secretary of Defense. After confirmation by a unanimous Senate vote, Cohen was sworn in as the 20th Secretary of Defense on January 24, 1997, becoming the first Republican politician to serve a Democratic president in this capacity. In December 1999, Cohen ordered an immediate review of the Clinton administration's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding the status and treatment of gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. The order was given shortly after the president said publicly that the policy was not working. During his tenure as Defense Secretary, Cohen also had to address various other social issues, including: the role of women in combat as well as in other military jobs, racism, and sexual harassment.

After leaving the Pentagon in 2001, Cohen founded The Cohen Group, a business consulting and lobbyist firm, with three Pentagon officials, Bob Tyrer, Jim Bodner, and H.K. Park. Cohen has written several books, including mysteries, poetry, and (with George Mitchell) an analysis of the Iran-Contra Affair. He is a Chairman Emeritus of the US-Taiwan Business Council.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Evans, Rowland, 1921-2001. Rowland Evans Jr. and Robert D. Novak papers, 1948-2008. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Stein and Day Publisher Records, 1963-1988 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Richtel, Murray, 1940-,. Oral history interview with Murray Richtel, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Shirley S. Steele and filmed by Anne Marie Pois, 2010. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Cohen, William S. William S. Cohen : commercials , 1972-1990. University of Oklahoma, Political Community Archives
creatorOf Cohen, William S., 1940-. Papers, 1955-2001 (bulk 1972-2001). Raymond H. Fogler Library
referencedIn Nemirovskaya, Anna, 1936-,. Oral history interview with Anna Nemirovskaya, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Shirley S. Steele and David Shneer, and filmed by Liz McCutcheon, 2010. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Bailin, Roxanne, 1949-,. Oral history interview with Roxanne Bailin, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Brandon Springer and filmed by Felicia Furman, 2010. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Cohen, William M., 1940-,. Oral history interview with William M. Cohen, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Jessica Kaplan, 1992. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Yevtushenko, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich, 1933-. Papers, ca. 1920-1999, ca. 1945-1997 Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Gould, Barbara, 1955-,. Oral history interview with Barbara Gould, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Shirley S. Steele and filmed by Liz McCutcheon, 2010. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Randel, William Peirce, 1909-. Papers, 1941-1992. Raymond H. Fogler Library
referencedIn Elliot L. Richardson papers, 1780-1999 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Photographs of the White House Photograph Office (Clinton Administration). 1/20/1993 - 1/20/2001. Photographs Relating to the Clinton Administration. 1/20/1993 - 1/20/2001. Photograph of President William J. Clinton Posing for an Official Portrait with Cabinet and Senior Advisers William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
referencedIn Elliot L. Richardson papers, 1780-1999 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Byrd, Harry Flood, 1914-. Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. papers, [1920?], 1960, 1966, 1982-2005. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Papers of Julian Bond 1897-2006 University of Virginia. Small Special Collections Library
creatorOf Cohen, William M., 1940-,. Oral history interview with William M. Cohen, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Michael Rourke and filmed by Elaine Chang, 2010. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Plam, Olga, 1937-,. Oral history interview with Olga Plam, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Brandon Springer and Avery Mills, and filmed by Elaine Chang, 2010. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Blanchet, William L., 1954-,. Oral history interview with William L. Blanchet, [electronic resource] / interviewed by Rebecca Rosenberg, 2010. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Löwenthal, Leo, 1900-1993. Papers, 1933-1969 Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bailin, Roxanne, 1949-, person
associatedWith Blanchet, William L., 1954-, person
associatedWith Bond, Julian, 1940- person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Boston university. School of Law corporateBody
associatedWith Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry (Boulder, Colo.) corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Bowdoin College corporateBody
associatedWith Byrd, Harry Flood, 1914- person
associatedWith Chang, Elaine, person
associatedWith Cohen, Sara-Jane, 1944-. person
associatedWith Evans, Rowland, 1921-2001. person
associatedWith Gould, Barbara, 1955-, person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Husson College corporateBody
associatedWith John F. Kennedy School of Government. Institute of Politics corporateBody
associatedWith Kaplan, Jessica, person
correspondedWith Lowenthal, Leo. person
associatedWith Meiman, Inna. person
associatedWith Meiman, Naum. person
associatedWith Nemirovskaya, Anna, 1936-, person
associatedWith Plam, Olga, 1937-, person
associatedWith Randel, William Peirce, 1909- person
associatedWith Richardson, Elliot L., 1920-1999. person
associatedWith Richtel, Murray, 1940-, person
associatedWith Rourke, Michael, person
associatedWith Skaggs, David. person
associatedWith Stein and Day Publishers. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Congress. House corporateBody
memberOf United States. Congress. Senate corporateBody
leaderOf United States. Department of Defense corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf University of Maine at Orono corporateBody
associatedWith University of Oklahoma. Political Commercial Archive. corporateBody
associatedWith Wirth, Timothy E. person
associatedWith Yevtushenko, Yevgeny person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Bangor ME US
District of Columbia DC US
Cambridge MA US
Brunswick ME US
Boston MA US
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Birth 1940-08-28

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