Cohen, Herman J.
A top specialist in African affairs and a pioneer in promoting democratic transition, good governance, and civilian control in Africa, Hank Cohen served 38 years in the Foreign Service, reaching in 1991 the highest rank of Career Ambassador. In Africa, he was posted to five U.S. embassies and served as ambassador to Senegal. In Washington he was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under George H. W. Bush and Special Assistant for African Affairs to Ronald Reagan. Among other honors, he received the French Legion of Honor and the Belgian Order of Leopold II. Since 1994, Cohen has been active as president of Cohen and Woods, an international consulting firm specializing in assistance to American corporations doing business in Africa.
As the Cold War wound down in 1989, Africa was awash in civil wars. Ambassador Hank Cohen initiated an aggressive policy of diplomatic intervention in African conflicts, using the prestige and credibility of the world’s only superpower to search for peace. Cohen details his own and others’ efforts in seven...
Ambassador Herman J. “Hank” Cohen decided early in his 38-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service to specialize in African affairs. He made that decision in the late 1950s when the majority of the African nations were transitioning from European colonial rule to sovereign independence. His service in five U.S....
Herman Cohen draws on both the documentary record and his years of on-the-ground experience to provide a uniquely comprehensive survey and interpretation of nearly eight decades of US policy toward Africa. Tracing how this policy has evolved across successive administrations since 1942 (beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term...
