Andrew Wellington Cordier (March 1, 1901 – July 11, 1975) was a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
official and President of
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Early life
Cordier was born on a farm near
Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
and attended high school in
Hartville, Ohio
Hartville is a village in 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 two main ...
where he became quarterback of the football team and valedictorian of his graduating class. He graduated in 1922 from
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Medieval History at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1927. 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
** Alumnus, 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
Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
,
Danzig, and the
Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ[Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...](_blank)
extension.
He became an international security advisor at the U.S.
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
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, Calif ...
. The State Department sent him to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1945 to help organize the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
.
United Nations
From 1946 to 1961, Cordier served as Undersecretary in Charge of
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
and Related Affairs and took on assignments as a special representative of the Secretary General in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
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 F ...
and Ambassador
Yakov Malik
Yakov Alexandrovich Malik (russian: Яков Александрович Малик) (11 February 1980) was a Soviet diplomat.
Biography
Born in Ostroverkhovka village, Kharkov Governorate, Malik was educated at Kharkiv Institute of Nationa ...
to meet in the basement of his
Great Neck, New York
Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
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 (; 2 July 1925 – 17 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 of the Congo) from June u ...
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 much of the Secretary General's responsibilities.
Columbia University
After leaving the U.N., Cordier joined
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
as the Dean of the School of International Affairs (SIA). When
Grayson L. Kirk
Grayson Louis Kirk (October 12, 1903 – November 21, 1997) was an American political scientist who served as president of Columbia University during the Columbia University protests of 1968. He was also an advisor to the State Department an ...
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
William James McGill (27 February 1922 – 19 October 1997) was an American psychologist, author, and academic administrator. He was the 16th president of Columbia University and the 3rd chancellor of the University of California San Diego.
Bio ...
. 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 (facilitated by Ted Van Dyk, brought in the CU by the Trustees), attending student rallies (sponsored by Students for a Restructured University (SRU), led by Neal H. Hurwitz, College grad '66 and Graduate Student/teaching assistant) to listen and respond to student concerns, and speaking out against U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Columbia College awarded him its highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Medal, in 1970.
Later years
Cordier, aged 74, died of cirrhosis of the liver at the
Manhasset
Manhasset is a hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in D ...
Medical Center on Long Island.
He is buried with his wife, Dorothy Butterbaugh Cordier, in the Oaklawn Cemetery, North Manchester Indiana.
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, located in North Manchester, named its 1100-seat auditorium after Andrew Cordier.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordier, Andrew W.
American political scientists
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 political scientists