Andrew Cordier
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Andrew Wellington Cordier (March 1, 1901 – July 11, 1975) was a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
official and President of
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.


Early life and education

Cordier was born on a farm near
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
, and attended high school in
Hartville, Ohio Hartville is a village in northern Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,329 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. Hartville lies halfway between Akron and Canton at the intersection of St ...
, where he became quarterback of the football team and valedictorian of his graduating class. He graduated in 1922 from
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
in Indiana and went on to earn a Ph.D. in medieval history at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1927 with a dissertation on the reconstruction of southern France after the
Albigensian Crusades The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
. He married the former Dorothy Butterbaugh in 1924. He studied at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...
in Switzerland in 1930–1931 where he made surveys of the situations in the
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, Danzig, and the
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extension.


State Department

He became an international security advisor at the U.S.
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
in 1944 and was part of the U.S. delegation to the
San Francisco Conference The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Cal ...
. The State Department sent him to
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in 1945 to help organize the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.


United Nations

From 1946 to 1961, Cordier served as Undersecretary in Charge of
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and Related Affairs and took on assignments as a special representative of the Secretary General in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and the
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and Congo crises. Cordier was dubbed a "demon parliamentarian" for his ability to cite the specific rules governing matters of procedure on the spot. Cordier is noted for convincing
Dean Rusk David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States secretary of state from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving secretary of state after Cordell Hull from the ...
and Ambassador
Yakov Malik Yakov Aleksandrovich Malik (;; 11 February 1980) was a Soviet diplomat. Biography Born in Ostroverkhivka village, Kharkov Governorate to a peasant family, Malik was educated at Kharkiv Institute of National Economy (1930). Then, he worked a ...
to meet in the basement of his
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home to discuss how to lessen U.S.–Soviet tensions. Cordier was considered responsible for facilitating the first US-supported coup against Congo Prime Minister
Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...
by closing airports and radio stations to him while his opponents had such facilities available to them. Both Belgian and UN documents show Cordier as doing this purposefully. In 1962, Cordier resigned from his post after the Soviets criticized him for usurping too many of the
Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
's responsibilities after the death of
Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...
.


Columbia University

After leaving the United Nations, Cordier joined Columbia University as the Dean of the School of International Affairs (SIA), serving in that role from 1962 to 1972. When Grayson L. Kirk resigned in 1968, Cordier assumed the presidency on an interim basis while remaining Dean of SIA. The trustees were sufficiently pleased with his work that they gave him the permanent title in 1969; Cordier accepted on the condition that the search for a new president continue. He was president until 1970, when he was succeeded by William J. McGill. Cordier continued as Dean of SIA after leaving the president's office. As president he enjoyed moderate success in dealing with student unrest and unhappiness by maintaining an open-door policy, attending student rallies sponsored by Students for a Restructured University (SRU) which was led by Neal H. Hurwitz, and speaking out against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Columbia College awarded him its highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Medal, in 1970.


Later years

In 1975, at the age of 74, Cordier died of cirrhosis of the liver at the
Manhasset Manhasset is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 ...
Medical Center on Long Island. His undergraduate alma mater, Manchester University, located in North Manchester, Indiana named its 1100-seat auditorium in his honor.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordier, Andrew W. American officials of the United Nations Presidents of Columbia University Columbia University faculty Indiana University faculty Manchester University (Indiana) alumni Manchester University (Indiana) faculty University of Chicago alumni University of Geneva alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni People from Canton, Ohio People of the Congo Crisis 1901 births 1975 deaths Deaths from cirrhosis 20th-century American academics 20th-century American political scientists