Overview

• His son, Christopher Gergen, confirmed that the former presidential adviser died July 10 from complications of Lewy body dementia.
• Gergen served as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor under Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, earning bipartisan respect.
• He transitioned into journalism in the mid-1980s, becoming a senior political analyst on PBS’s MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour and later CNN.
• At Harvard Kennedy School, he founded the Center for Public Leadership and held the title of professor of public service emeritus until his death.
• He coined Ronald Reagan’s iconic debate question “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” and authored best-selling books on presidential leadership.