Frederick Ellyer Cohen (born 1957) was a British businessman and former politician. He was a senator in the Bailiwick of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

for six years from October 2005 until unseated at the election of November 2011. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, Cohen was educated in Jersey at Moorestown,

St. Michael's Preparatory School St Michael's Preparatory School is the largest private preparatory school in Jersey, situated in the parish of St. Saviour. The school acts as a feeder to many British public schools in the United Kingdom. The school celebrated its 60th anni ...

, Victoria College and then studied accountancy at

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

. Following a career in construction, he became trustee and Vice-Chairman of the

Jersey Heritage Trust Jersey Heritage is an independent Charitable trust, trust in Jersey which is responsible for the island's major historic sites, museums, and public archives. It holds collections of artefacts, works of art, documents, specimens, and informati ...

. He is a former president of the Jersey Jewish Congregation, retiring in 2001. He has been prominent in community relations as trustee of the Jersey Community Relations Trust and member of the Jersey Holocaust Memorial Day Committee. He is also the author of two books on the

Occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British ...

and the history of Channel Island Silver, managed the new official history of the Occupation by Paul Sanders, organised the

La Hougue Bie La Hougue Bie is a historic site, with museum, in the Jersey parish of Grouville. La Hougue Bie is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey pound, Jersey 1 pound note. Toponymy ''Hougue'' is a Jèrriais/Cotentin variant form of the more common Norm ...

Slaveworker Memorial, and commissioned, fundraised and managed ''The Ultimate Sacrifice'' – the chronicle of Islanders who perished in concentration camps.

States of Jersey

Cohen held elected office between 2005 and 2011. He entered the

States of Jersey The States Assembly (french: Assemblée des États; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system o ...

as a Senator in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, receiving 13,704 votes. He topped the poll in six

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and was third in the remaining six parishes. He held two ministerial posts. First, in 2005 he was elected to the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

as Minister for Planning and Environment, a position he held for nearly six years becoming Jersey's longest serving minister. During this term he introduced the Eco-Active environmental awareness campaign, introduced Percentage for Art, established the Renewable Energy Commission, established the Jersey Architecture Commission and achieved approval for the New Island Plan and the North of Town Masterplan. Second, in January 2011 he was appointed as Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for UK and

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

(in effect, Jersey's Foreign Minister). In this role he has led visits to India, China, Israel, and Malta. His responsibilities include developing relations with parliamentarians at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. In this role he successfully negotiated UK and EU support for Jersey's Zero-Ten tax regime. In June 2011, after the approval by the

of his Island Plan by a majority of 38 to 1 votes and the

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

Masterplan by 37 votes to 1,he resigned as Minister for Planning and Environment to concentrate on his UK and International responsibilities. In 2011, Cohen received anti-Semitic threats and announced that he would not be seeking re-election. He later decided that he would stand in the October 2011 general election. In the contest for four vacancies, Cohen was unsuccessful finishing sixth out of 13 candidates with 7,922 votes his election campaign having been overshadowed by media criticism of the Portelet development, a redevelopment initially approved in 2005 before Cohen's tenure as Planning Minister. Ironical, in November 2011 the Portelet development received the 'Best apartment development in the British Isles' gold award presented at Grosvenor House.

Parish Municipality

Prior to his election to the

, Cohen held elected office in the Municipality of the parish of St John; serving as

Constable's Officer There is an Honorary Police ( French: Police Honorifique) force in each of the twelve parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid. Honorary Police officers have, ...

Centenier There is an Honorary Police ( French: Police Honorifique) force in each of the twelve parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid. Honorary Police officers have, ...

and Rates Assessor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Freddie Living people 1957 births English Jews Jersey Jews Government ministers of Jersey People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Politicians from Manchester Senators of Jersey