Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History

Theodore C. Sorensen

Theodore C. Sorensen is best known for his close association with and dedication to President John F. Kennedy. Serving as a legislative and administrative assistant and speechwriter for Senator Kennedy, Mr. Sorensen went on to play an important role in organizing the presidential campaign of 1960, especially efforts to counter anti-Catholic prejudice. He served as Special Counsel and speechwriter to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963 and participated in the secret ExComm meetings during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mr. Sorensen is the author of four books about the Kennedy years, including the international best-seller, Kennedy (1965), and Let the Word Go Forth (1988), a selection of the speeches, statements and writings of President Kennedy. He was largely responsible for completing Robert Kennedy's Thirteen Days, based on notes left after RFK's assassination in 1968.

In 1966, Mr. Sorensen joined the prominent international law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he has advised the U.S. government, foreign governments, and multinational corporations on numerous negotiations with international institutions, governments, and investors. Mr. Sorensen, as an active member of the Democratic Party, has served in a variety of government, political, and civil posts. President Clinton appointed him to the Boards of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund and the Commission on White House Fellows. In 2002, Mr. Sorensen was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He is a director of the Century Foundation and was a director of the Council on Foreign Relations until 2004.

Mr. Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and graduated from the University of Nebraska and its College of Law. Mr. Sorensen's memoirs, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, was published on May 6, 2008.

2023 FPA/SUNY Global Engagement Speaker Series

Oct 12, 2023