David Gergen

All you want to know about David Gergen

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Gergen at the 2008 World Economic Forum.

David Richmond Gergen (May 9, 1942) is best known as a political consultant and presidential advisor during the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton.

1 Family and Education
2 Professional Career
- 2.1 Public Service
- 2.2 Educational, Journalistic & Other Professional Activities
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Family and Education

Gergen was born in Durham, North Carolina. He has a brother, Kenneth Gergen, a psychologist and professor at Swarthmore College.^{[citation needed]} Gergen earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1963. In 1967, he received his law degree from Harvard University, and currently is a member of the D.C. Bar. That same year Gergen married Anne Gergen of England. She is a family therapist and they live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They have two children, Christopher and Katherine.

Gergen served in the U.S. Navy for three-and-a-half years, serving on a ship home-ported in Japan, and is a well-known proponent of mandatory national service.^{[citation needed]}

Professional Career

Public Service

In addition to serving in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, Gergen was also a campaign staffer for George H.W. Bush's 1980 presidential campaign. Despite his long-standing association with Republicans, Gergen has stated that he is actually an independent,^[1] and served as an adviser to Democratic President Bill Clinton, first as a Counselor on both foreign policy and domestic affairs and then as Special International Advisor to then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher.^[2]

Educational, Journalistic & Other Professional Activities

Following his years in public service, Gergen has been actively involved in higher education. As of 2006, Gergen is a professor of public service at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and director of its Center for Public Leadership.^[3] A Durham native, Gergen has also taught at Duke University, where he is now a trustee. Gergen served as Elon University's inaugural Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership and as the Chair of the Elon University School of Law Advisory Board.

Gergen has had a long career in journalism and political commentary. From 1984 to 1993, Gergen worked for U.S. News & World Report, including two-and-a-half years during which he served as editor. During that period, he was a regular commentator for five years on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, providing a conservative viewpoint counterposed to that of Mark Shields. Gergen's frequent television appearances as a political commentator and pundit occasionally made him the target of satire. In a biting critique of the pedantic and frequently self-evident predictions made on some televised political talk programs, humorist Joe Bob Briggs made the observation that David Gergen bore an uncanny resemblance to The Cat in the Hat.^[4]

Following his service in the Clinton Administration, Gergen resumed his relationship with U.S. News, and currently serves as editor-at-large. In addition, Gergen is a political contributor to CNN and frequently appears on Anderson Cooper 360. He also appears on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. He moderated PBS's World@Large discussion program for two seasons.^[2]

Gergen is active on many non-profit boards and is Chairman of the National Selection Committee for the Ford Foundation’s program on Innovations in American Government. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,^{[citation needed]} and is also a regular attendee of the Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio, California.^{[citation needed]}.