The Legacy of David Gergen

DAVID GERGEN

1942-2025
A Remembrance

David Gergen devoted his life to service. To his country. To its leaders. To his students and colleagues. To his family. He was a man of honor and commitment.

David Gergen, founding Co-Director of the NPLI, passed in July 2025.

For David, his role in helping to establish the NPLI was just one of his many impactful contributions.

David’s sage advice was delivered to four Presidents – Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He was a political commentator who, on CNN, the PBS MacNeil Lehrer News Hour, the US World and News Report, and across the media, addressed common-ground political wisdom on matters that could bring people together. Most importantly, he left his mark on the political discourse of this country and the world. People might not have always agreed with him. They were, however, always left inspired and with something to think about.

David joined Harvard University and the Kennedy School of Government in 1999 as a Professor of Public Service. He founded and co-directed the Center for Public Leadership (CPL), which grew into a prominent program devoted to the study and practice of principled and effective leadership.

Having served four U.S. presidents, David understood the pressures of leading through a crisis in a way few ever could. At NPLI seminars, he would share his many stories, including his presence and role in the White House Situation Room when news arrived of the attempted assassination of President Reagan. What distinguished him most was how he translated his vast array of experience into riveting lessons and wisdom that others could carry forward. He didn’t teach leadership as theory—he taught it as responsibility.

One side of the Meta-Leadership framework, taught in NPLI seminars, is “leading up to your boss.” For many NPLI participants, that translated into leading up to a Mayor, Governor, or President. David cautioned each class, “No elected official ever ran for office with the ambition of leading through a crisis. However, crises come with the terrain. Elected officials rise or fall in times of crisis, and how well they do will determine whether or not they get re-elected. That is where you come in, and how you will gain their attention, before, during, and after a crisis. That is your responsibility in leading up to them.”

At Harvard, David helped cultivate a new kind of leader: one grounded in collaboration, humility, and moral clarity. He believed deeply that leadership was not about authority, but about trust—earned in moments of crisis and sustained through integrity. “Influence beyond authority,” a key theme of Meta-Leadership practice, knits people, agencies, and organizations together in ways that make a difference. A moving role model for aspiring leaders, David listened as much as he spoke, and when he spoke, people leaned in. His classrooms, conversations, and counsel were marked by curiosity and generosity.

David’s words and wisdom are very much alive today. He composed the foreword to the first editions of the NPLI book, “You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most.” He authored the compelling books, “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership – Nixon to Clinton,” and “Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made,” along with countless sage opinion pieces, articles, and commentaries.

David Gergen’s life was a rare blend of intellect, service, and humanity—one that left a deep imprint not only on American public life but on generations of leaders shaped under his guidance at Harvard University, among them alumni of the NPLI.

David, thank you.

— Lenny Marcus