| Wilbur J. Cohen |
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Wilbur Joseph Cohen ( June 10 , 1913 – May 17 , 1987 ), born in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , was an American Social Scientist and politician. He was one of the key architects in the creation and expansion of the American Welfare State and was involved in the creation of both the New Deal and Great Society programs. Wilbur Cohen was known by several nicknames. He was once dubbed "The Man Who Built Medicare " and John F. Kennedy tagged him "Mr. Social Security ." '' The New York Times '' called him "one of the country's foremost technicians in public welfare." '' Time '' portrayed him as a man of "boundless energy, infectious enthusiasm, and a drive for action." He was a leading expert on Social Security and a member of Americans For Democratic Action . After graduating from the University Of Wisconsin-Madison in 1934 , Cohen moved to Washington, D.C. where he was a Research Assistant for the committee which drafted the Social Security Act . Later, he was Director of the Bureau of Research and Statistics in charge of program development and legislative coordination with Congress for the Social Security Board (SSB), which was renamed the Social Security Administration in 1946 . In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Cohen Assistant Secretary for Legislation of Health, Education, and Welfare. President Lyndon B. Johnson elevated him to Under Secretary in 1965 and to U.S. Secretary Of Health, Education, And Welfare in 1968. The University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor , where Cohen was a Professor of Public Welfare Administration and lived for many years with his wife Eloise and their sons Christopher, Bruce and Stuart, established the "Wilbur J. Cohen Collegiate Professor of Social Work" Professorship in his honour. Wilbur Cohen died in Seoul , South Korea in 1987 . BOOKS
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