David Gergen

David Gergen
Counselor to the President
In office
May 29, 1993 – June 28, 1994
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byClayton Yeutter
Succeeded byMack McLarty
White House Communications Director
In office
June 17, 1981 – January 15, 1984
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byFrank Ursomarso
Succeeded byMichael A. McManus Jr.
In office
July 4, 1976 – January 20, 1977
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byMargita White
Succeeded byGerald Rafshoon (1978)
White House Staff Secretary
In office
January 20, 1981 – June 17, 1981
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byRichard Hutcheson
Succeeded byRichard Darman
White House Director of Speechwriting
In office
February 6, 1973 – August 9, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byRay Price
Succeeded byRobert Hartmann
Personal details
Born
David Richmond Gergen

(1942-05-09) May 9, 1942 (age 82)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (since 2017)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Republican (before 2017)
SpouseAnne Gergen
Children2
EducationYale University (BA)
Harvard University (LLB)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.[2] He is currently a senior political analyst for CNN[3] and a professor of public service and the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is also the former editor at large of U.S. News & World Report[4] and a contributor to CNN.com and Parade Magazine. He has twice been a member of election coverage teams that won Peabody awards—in 1988 with MacNeil–Lehrer, and in 2008 with CNN.

Gergen joined the Nixon White House in 1971, as a staff assistant on the speech-writing team, becoming director of speechwriting two years later.[5] He served as director of communications for both Ford and Reagan, and as a senior adviser to Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher.[6] He graduated with honors from Yale and Harvard Law School, and has been awarded 27 honorary degrees.

  1. ^ David Gergen, Master of the Game
  2. ^ Kelly, Michael (31 October 1993). "David Gergen, Master of The Game" – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ "CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  4. ^ "David Gergen Biography". Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Executive Office of the President". 23 December 2014.
  6. ^ Gergen, David. Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.