Mr. William S. Cohen was born on August 28, 1940 in Bangor, Maine. He has an LLB degree from Boston University Law School and has worked as an attorney and a law professor. He also became the assistant editor-in-chief of the American Trial Lawyers Association and a partner in a Bangor law firm.

Mr. Cohen was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics at Harvard University in 1972, where he was named one of the U.S. Jaycee's ten outstanding young men in 1975.

He was first elected to public office as a city counselor in Bangor. He followed that up as Republican to the House of Representatives in 1972. Walking during campaigning became his trademark. (He used to walk through the towns and cities he represented, talking informally with his constituents.)

Mr. Cohen was elected to the Senate in 1978, 1984 and 1990. He was a moderate republican who continued the tradition of independent thinking representatives from Maine. He worked as a bridge-builder between Republicans and Democrats.

After Watergate, Mr. Cohen became a leading Congressional advocate for more stringent ethics laws, and he has maintained an interest in government ethics throughout his career. In 1983, he publicly floated the idea of nuclear "build-down," a plan that would require the U.S. and the Soviet Union to eliminate one or more existing weapons for each new one deployed. Although this plan was defeated in committee, it became part of the overall U.S. arms control position.

During his twenty-four years in Congress, Mr. Cohen and his staff responded to more than 50,000 requests for assistance. He played a leading role in helping Maine businesses compete in international markets and supporting Navy Projects for Maine Facilities.