Roger Cohen

Roger Cohen (born 2 August 1955) is a journalist and author. He was a reporter, editor and columnist for The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune (later re-branded as the International New York Times). He has worked as a foreign correspondent in fifteen countries. Early life and education Cohen was born in London to a Jewish family. His father, Sydney Cohen, a doctor, emigrated from South Africa to England in the 1950s. In the late 1960s, Roger studied at Westminster School, one of Britain's top private schools. He won a scholarship and would have entered College, the scholars' House, but was told that a Jew could not attend College or hold his particular scholarship. (The scholarship initially offered to him was intended for persons who professed the Christian faith, as he later learned while researching the affair.) Instead, he was awarded a different scholarship. In 1973, Cohen travelled with friends throughout the Middle East, including Iran and Afghanistan. He drove a Volkswagen Kombi named 'Pigpen' after the late keyboard-playing frontman of the Grateful Dead. (In the article cited, Cohen identifies Pigpen as the drummer for the Filmore East 1971 performances.) He studied History and French at Balliol College, Oxford and graduated in 1977. He left that year for Paris to teach English and to write for Paris Metro. He started working for Reuters and the agency transferred him to Brussels. Cohen's mother, also from South Africa (b. 1929), attempted suicide in London in 1978. She died there in 1999 and was buried in Johannesburg.