Herman Cohen

Ambassador Cohen retired in 1993 after 38 years as a career diplomat, founding the consulting firm Cohen and Woods International, which specializes in strategic advisory services for African governments, and business services to American companies engaged in trade and investment in Africa. His positions included Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, and Senior Director for Africa at the National Security Council. He authored Intervening in Africa: Superpower Peacemaking in a Troubled Continent, which The American Academy of Diplomacy honored with its award for the best writing on diplomacy for the year 2000. Mr. Cohen’s honors and awards include the rank of Career Ambassador in the Foreign Service (1992), the Distinguished Senior Foreign Service Presidential Award (1993), the French Legion of Honor (1991), the Belgian Order of Leopold II (1992), and the Distinguished Alumni Award of the City College of New York (1992).