Horace Merle Cochran (1892 – 1973) was an American diplomat, economist, and career Foreign Service Officer.

After joining the United States Foreign Service, Cochran served as Vice Consul in Germany, Mexico, Guatemala, Switzerland, Jamaica, Haiti, and Montreal, Canada.

Cochran briefly left the State Department to serve as the Technical Assistant to the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1939 to 1941 under Henry Morgenthau Jr. From 1941 to 1948, Cochran served as a Senior Foreign Service Inspector.

[1][2][3] In January 1952, Cochran engaged in private negotiations with Indonesian Foreign Minister Achmad Soebardjo to provide aid and loans to Indonesia under the Mutual Security Act of 1951.

[4] Cochran retired from the Foreign Service in 1953, and worked as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund from 1953 to 1962.