David Gergen, who served as a presidential adviser to four presidents of both parties and educated generations of Americans about leadership and civic engagement, has died. He was 83.
Gergen was the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and a longtime political analyst for CNN. His son, Christopher Gergen, confirmed the death occurred Thursday and said the cause was Lewy body dementia, a brain disease that causes symptoms similar to Parkinson’s.
Gergen was a legendary figure in Washington and beyond who brought insider knowledge and used his media platforms to promote responsible leadership.
He began his political career in the Nixon White House and later wrote that “before he self-destructed, Nixon was among the best of modern presidents.” He served as communications director on two occasions, first to Gerald Ford and then to Ronald Reagan. Ten years later, after a stint running US News & World Report and his first contract with CNN, he returned to the White House as a counselor to Bill Clinton.
“It was a controversial appointment – both for him and for me, as I had worked previously for three Republican presidents,” Gergen later wrote in a memoir. “But he was a friend, and he was our president, so I said yes. And indeed, I was honored.”
Gergen said Clinton had lost his footing and self-confidence, so “we had to encourage him to rediscover his old strengths and reassert his own authenticity. And that worked!” He did not last long in the Clinton White House, however – presaging the kind of Democrat-Republican animosity that is now considered normal.
While Gergen was sometimes criticized for his speechwriting and “spinning” on behalf of presidents, he strongly believed in the bully pulpit as a force for good in the world.
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After the White House, he began a second career as a Harvard professor and public lecturer, drawing great acclaim for his insights about moral leadership and democratic values.
“David showed by how he lived there could be honor in being a Washington insider,” Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence H. Summers said on X when Gergen’s death was reported.
Christopher Gergen said his father was “was a dedicated public servant who put country above party – as well as a loved husband, father, and grandfather.”
Last December, when Katherine Gergen Barnett, Gergen’s daughter, disclosed his dementia diagnosis, she wrote a column for the Boston Globe capturing some of her father’s final reflections.
“As awful as life is currently in the public sphere, there is still reason to believe in our country and its leadership and to go into service,” she quoted Gergen as saying.
“Americans,” Gergen told his daughter, “can endure any crisis, but they need to continue to take a sense of responsibility for their country.”
Gergen, who was strongly critical of President Donald Trump’s behavior during Trump’s first term in office, told his daughter shortly after the November 2024 election that “we are going through a period of fear.”
“We have been tested, we are being tested now, but we must recognize that politics in our country is like a pendulum,” he told her.
“We must hold onto the inspirational moments of our history,” he said, “and use them to light our path forward.”
Check back for a more complete obituary.
