David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83.
Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Over the years, he served as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles.
Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School, with which Gergen had a long relationship, said Gergen died of a long illness. Gergen "devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve," said Hannah Riley Bowles, a former co-director of the school's Center for Public Leadership, where Gergen was the founding director.
"David was a principled leader of unmatched character, integrity and kindness, who chose to see goodness in every person he met," Riley Bowles said.
Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice president, posted on X, "Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world."