David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to 4 presidents in a profession spanning a long time in authorities, academia and media, has died. He was 83.
Gergen labored within the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Invoice Clinton. Over time, he served as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, amongst different roles.
Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy Faculty, with which Gergen had an extended relationship, mentioned Gergen died of an extended sickness. Gergen “devoted a long time of his life to serving those that sought to serve,” mentioned Hannah Riley Bowles, a former co-director of the varsity’s Middle for Public Management, the place Gergen was the founding director.
“David was a principled chief of unmatched character, integrity and kindness, who selected to see goodness in each individual he met,” Riley Bowles mentioned.
Al Gore, who served as Clinton’s vp, posted on X, “Of the numerous ways in which David Gergen contributed to our nice nation, what I’ll keep in mind him for many was his kindness to everybody he labored with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good on this planet.”
David Richmond Gergen was born in North Carolina and graduated from Yale College and the Harvard Legislation Faculty, in line with a biography on the Harvard Kennedy Faculty web site. He would go on to obtain 27 honorary levels over the course of his profession.
Gergen based the Middle for Public Management on the Harvard Kennedy Faculty and remained there as professor of public service emeritus till his dying, in line with the varsity’s web site.
After serving within the U.S. Navy within the Sixties, Gergen took his first White Home job in 1971, serving as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon. Bipartisanship and collaboration have been hallmarks of his lengthy profession, mentioned colleagues who paid testimonials on social media Friday.
He was additionally a media character who labored as a senior political analyst for CNN. In his 2022 guide “Hearts Touched with Fireplace: How Nice Leaders are Made,” he wrote: “Our biggest leaders have emerged from each good instances and, extra usually, difficult ones. … The very best amongst them make the troublesome calls, that may finally alter the course of historical past.”
A non-public burial is scheduled for Mount Auburn Cemetery on Monday, mentioned Mark Douglass, director of Douglass Funeral Residence in Lexington, Massachusetts. A bigger memorial service at Harvard can be held within the coming weeks, Douglass mentioned.