David Gergen

At 82 years old, David Gergen has this physical status:

David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton's administrations.

He is presently a senior political analyst for CNN and a professor of public service, as well as the founding director of the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership.

Gergen is also a senior editor at U.S. News and World Report and a contributor to CNN.com and Parade Magazine.

He has been a member of election coverage teams that have received Peabody awards—both with MacNeil-Lehrer in 1988 and 2008 with CNN. Gergen began working with the Nixon White House in 1971 as a staff assistant on the speech-writing staff and then became the head of speechwriting two years later.

He worked as both a director of communications for Ford and Reagan, as well as as a senior advisor to Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

He graduated with honors from Yale and Harvard Law School, and he has been awarded 25 honorary degrees.

Early life

David Gergen was born in Durham, North Carolina, to John Jay Gergen, the chairman of Duke University's mathematics department from 1937 to 1966, as well as Aubigne Munger (née Lermond). Kenneth J. Gergen, one of his brothers, is a psychologist and professor at Swarthmore College, and he is the youngest of four children. Stephen L. Gergen, one of his three brothers, was one of his many acquaintances.

Education

Gergen attended Durham High School, a former public high school in his hometown of Durham, North Carolina, where he edited the school newspaper, Hi-Rocket. He went to Yale University, where he earned his B.A. after high school graduation. She received a bachelor's degree in American studies in 1963 and served as a member of the Manuscript Society. At Yale, he was the managing editor of the Yale Daily News, whose employees at the time included future senator Joe Lieberman, Stephen Bingham, Robert G. Kaiser, and Paul Steiger. Gergen obtained his LL.B. Anne Elizabeth Gergen, a native of London, England, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1967 and married her Anne Elizabeth Gergen, the same year.

Personal life

Gergen has been married to Anne Elizabeth Gergen, a family therapist, since 1967. They have two children and five grandchildren and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Christopher's son, as well as an author and a Duke University faculty member, is a social entrepreneur in North Carolina. Katherine, their daughter, is a family physician who works with the Boston Medical Center's underserved population.

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Life and career

Gergen served as an intern in the office of North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, where he became heavily involved in civil rights campaigns for three summers. Gergen has described this work as his "most satisfying experience in public service" in the United States Navy. He served in the US Navy for three-and-a-half years and was based in Japan on a ship home-ported. “Learning to minimize risk, it turned out, was the best possible preparation for my forthcoming years in the White House,” Gergen writes in his book about his time as a damage control officer on a ship, USS Ajax.

Gergen started his political career in 1971 as a staff assistant in Richard Nixon's speech-writing department, which also included Pat Buchananan, Ben Stein, and William Safire. He went from director of speechwriting two years ago.

Gergen took a short break from the White House to write speeches for Treasury Secretary William E. Simon in 1974. "For me, it was a great trade," Gergen writes in his book. "The Treasury team taught me everything about free markets and fiscal discipline." Gergen first served as the White House's director of communications for President Gerald Ford in 1975. Gergen began as an advisor to the George H. Bush presidential campaign in 1980 and went on to join the Reagan White House in 1981. He started as a staff manager before becoming the head of communications. Gergen returned to the White House in 1993, as advisor to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

Gergen is currently a senior political analyst for CNN and appears on Anderson Cooper 360 and Erin Burnett OutFront.

Gergen served as a political journalist, analyst, and editor in the years he served in public service. He began working as a freelance writer and, in 1978, as the first managing editor of Public Opinion, a newspaper published by the American Enterprise Institute, after leaving the White House in 1977. He served as an editor at U.S. News & World Report from 1985 to 1986, where he became an editor at large following his time in the Clinton administration. He worked with publisher Mort Zuckerman to achieve record sales in circulation and advertisement.

Gergen began his television career in 1985, when he joined the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour for Friday night's political debate, where he remained a regular commentator for five years.

He has appeared on NPR and CBS' Face the Country as a regular guest on CNN and CBS' Face the Country. He has written for Parade Magazine and has appeared in a variety of other publications, including The New York Times and Newsweek.

He has been a member of election coverage teams that have been nominated for Peabody awards in 1988 with MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour and 2008 with CNN.

Gergen served at Duke University from 1995 to 1999 and then joined the Harvard University faculty in 1999. He is now a professor of public service at Harvard Kennedy School, where he teaches courses on leadership, public service, and US politics. He co-teaches a course called Contemporary Issues in American Elections with Elaine Kamarck during election years. "Leadership for a Livable City" was a Harvard short-term course taught in New York City in January 2014.

He is the co-director of the Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership, which aims to expand leadership education and research at Harvard Kennedy School. Every year, the Center helps 100 students obtain scholarships, preparing them to be role models for the common good.

Gergen was Elon University's inaugural Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership and was a Fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics in 1984.

Gergen is the author of the New York Times bestseller Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, which was released in 2000 by Nixon to Clinton. The book chronicles his time in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. As the 21st century dawns, Gergen argues that the success of the US as a nation will be largely dependent on the achievements of a new generation in power. Seven key elements that future leaders must have are based on his many encounters in the White House: inner mastery; a vehement, persuasive cause; and a willingness to serve within the framework; a quick, reliable start; and a passion that inspires others to continue the cause.

Gergen is writing a new book about resurgenting America's political history.

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