Ted sorensen biography
Ted Sorensen
Theodore Chaikin Sorensen was an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser. He was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, as well as one of his closest advisers. President Kennedy once called him his "intellectual blood bank". Most notably, he was generally regarded as the author of Profiles in Courage, a claim he addresses in his 2008 memoir. The book won Kennedy the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957. Sorensen helped draft the Kennedy's inaugural address and was also the primary author of Kennedy's 1962 "We choose to go to the Moon" speech.
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“With the help of dedicated Americans from our party, every party, and no party at all, I intend to mount that stairway to preach peace for our nation and world.”
Ted Sorensen
May 8, 1928 - Oct 31, 2010
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Ted Sorensen
American lawyer and presidential adviser (1928–2010)
For the Australian politician, see Ted Sorensen (politician).
Ted Sorensen | |
|---|---|
Sorensen in 1983 | |
| In office January 20, 1961 – February 29, 1964 | |
| President | John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson |
| Preceded by | David Kendall |
| Succeeded by | Mike Feldman |
| Born | Theodore Chaikin Sorensen (1928-05-08)May 8, 1928 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | October 31, 2010(2010-10-31) (aged 82) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Camilla Palmer (1949, divorced) Sara Elbery (1964, divorced) Gillian Martin (1969) |
| Children | 4, including Juliet |
| Relatives | Christian A. Sorensen (father) Philip C. Sorensen (brother) |
| Education | University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BA, LLB) |
Theodore Chaikin Sorensen (May 8, 1928 – October 31, 2010) was an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser. He was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, as well as one of his closest advisers. President Kennedy once called him his "intellectual blood bank". He collaborated with Kennedy on the book Profiles in Courage , "assembling and preparing" much of research on which the book was based. Kennedy won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Sorensen helped draft Kennedy's inaugural address and Lyndon Johnson's Let Us Continue speech following Kennedy's assassination, and was the primary author of Kennedy's 1962 "We choose to go to the Moon" speech.
Early life and education
Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Christian A. Sorensen (1890–1959), who served as Nebraska attorney general (1929–1933), and Annis (Chaikin) Sorensen. His father was Danish American and his mother was of Russian Jewish descent. His younger brother, Philip C. Sorensen, later became the lieutenant governor of Nebraska. He graduated from Lincoln High School during 1945. He earned a bachelor's degree at the Univ Theodore C. Sorensen, an alumnus and constant supporter of the university, known for his historic career as adviser and counselor to John F. Kennedy and international law expert, died Oct. 31 in New York at age 82.Kennedy
A "member of the opposition" once said that he had read Ted Sorensen's new book, Kennedy, and that he did not like it very much. The feisty Sorensen replied that he was surprised because "I didn't know you could read."
In the Kennedy administration, Ted Sorensen, who was an attorney, poltical adviser, and main speechwriter in the Kennedy administration, occupied a unique position in the White House. He wrote major speeches for the President, but was also a trusted member of his inner circle. John F. Kennedy had plenty of yes-men. He sometimes needed a no-man and relied on the sharp-tongued Sorensen to be just that in times of foreign and domestic crises. In the judgement of Bobby Kennedy, the adviser played this role well. "If it was difficult," the Attorney General said, "Ted Sorensen was brought in."
For example, Sorensen recalled drafting a vital letter to Nikita Khruschev during the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the hawks in the American government were pressuring the President into actions that might have led to an all-out nuclear war. Much better known to the general public is the inaugural address question: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," which he was credited with.
Ted Sorensen was an unapologetic admirer of President Kennedy and his inner circle, and this shows in his work. He describes Kennedy as "one of the most extraordinary men of our land and our time" and expresses his desire "to dwell on the rich and lasting legacy he has left for you and for me and for us, a legacy of hope." Understandably, a man who stated that the President's assassination had traumatized him for life could not and did not write a biography of Kennedy that paints him with all his warts.
Just like the rest of Kennedy's close advisers, Sorensen believed that President Eisenhower's foreign policy establishment was slow-moving, overly reliant on John Foster Dulles's brinksmanshi Distinguished alumnus Ted Sorensen remembered for impact on university
Sorensen was born in Lincoln May 8, 1928 and graduated in 1949 from the University of Nebraska with a bachelor's degree in law, and in 1951, he earned his juris doctor from the NU College of Law.
After law school, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he would ultimately work for Kennedy, first as a researcher for the newly elected senator, then political strategist and trusted adviser. He collaborated with Kennedy on his 1956 book "Profiles in Courage" which won Kennedy a Pulitzer Prize. In 1962 he drafted Kennedy's letter to Nikita Khrushchev which helped to end the Cuban Missile Crisis. He left the White House soon after JFK's death, and in 1966 joined a New York City law firm, where as a prominent international lawyer, he advised governments, multinational organizations and major corporations around the world. He also wrote a bestselling biography of JFK, "Kennedy."
Up until last week when he reportedly suffered a stroke, Sorensen remained active in political and international issues, and was a frequent visitor to UNL, including his selection as a lecturer at the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues. On Nov. 18, 2008 he delivered "America and the World, 1962 to 2008: Contrasts and Contradictions" as part of the Thompson Forum. The video can be downloaded at http://enthompson.unl.edu/2008-09.shtml#sorensen
In 1991 he established an endowed fellowship fund that supports students in the College of Law who are committed to public service. In 1993 he received the law college's Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 2008 established the Theodore C. Sorensen Public Service Scholarship to seniors in the College of Arts and Sciences demonstrating superior academic performance and