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 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. He returned to Manchester University to teach in the Department of History and Political Science and at

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 ...

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 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

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 and Ambassador Yakov Malik to meet in the basement of his Great Neck, New York home to discuss how to lessen U.S.–Soviet tensions. Cordier was considered responsible for facilitating the first US-supported coup against

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba 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

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 Medical Center on Long Island. He is buried with his wife, Dorothy Butterbaugh Cordier, in the Oaklawn Cemetery, North Manchester Indiana. Manchester University, 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