Anne Hessing Cahn ( – December 8, 2024) was a German-born American political author and arms control expert. She held a doctorate in political science from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and was notable for her criticism of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

among other U.S. agencies and leaders, particularly

Team B Team B was a competitive analysis exercise commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to analyze threats the Soviet Union posed to the security of the United States. It was created, in part, due to a 1974 publication by Albert Wohlste ...

and other aspects of the last days of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

Biography

Cahn was born in

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

, Germany, the daughter of Ernest and Herta Hessing. She fled from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

with her family, first to France, then to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She met physicist John W. Cahn while they were attending the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and they married in 1950. Cahn was Scholar in Residence at The

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. She served the US Government as Chief of the Social Impact Staff at the

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, ...

(1977–81), Special Assistant to the

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

(1980–81), and president and executive director of the Committee for National Security (1982–88). In 2001, she chaired the board of directors, fo
20/20 Vision
a private organization founded to "increase citizen participation in public policy decisions on energy, security and the environment." She was also on the board of directors for the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American independent, nonprofit, national institute funded by the U.S. Congress and tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. See alsPDF on USIP website. It provides rese ...

or USIP, established in 1984, which is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by the United States Congress. John W. Cahn died in 2016. She had three children, Martin Cahn, a physician in Seattle; Andy Cahn, a science teacher in Kenmore, Washington; and Lorie Cahn, an environmental scientist in Jackson, Wyoming. Anne Hessing Cahn died in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, on December 8, 2024.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Penn State

democracyinaction.org
re: 20/20 Vision (organization)
2020vision publication
confirming position as Chair of BOD {{DEFAULTSORT:Cahn, Anne Hessing 20th-century births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths American political writers United States Department of Defense officials Women government officials Emigrants from Nazi Germany to France People from Mönchengladbach