States of Jersey
Cohen held elected office between 2005 and 2011. He entered the States of Jersey as a Senator in 2005, receiving 13,704 votes. He topped the poll in six parishes and was third in the remaining six parishes.
He held two ministerial posts. First, in 2005 he was elected to the Council of Ministers 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 (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. 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 States of Jersey of his Island Plan by a majority of 38 to 1 votes and the St Helier 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 .
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