Experts
Ted Sorensen
Former Special Counsel to Pres. Kennedy
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What issues are missing from the election agenda?
Too many to count, says Sorensen. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on Inexperience, George Bush and Barack Obama
Sorensen wrote that George Bush’s lack of foreign policy experience pre-2000 led us astray in Iraq. How is Obama’s lack of experience any different? Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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Why do you think Barack Obama can unite the country?
Obama represents a bridging of gaps, says Sorensen. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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It's not her likeability or intelligence, says Sorensen. It's her inability to communicate effectively. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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How have politics changed since JFK’s presidency?
The era of eloquence and comity has passed, says Sorensen. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on the Secrets of Effective Public Communication
First and foremost, be honest. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on Writing JFK’s Speeches
Sorensen watched JFK deliver words he had written with great satisfaction and pride. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In History, Politics & Policy
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Sorensen says that JFK was loved even during his tenure. How has his legacy changed since his assassination? Read More
May 22, 2008 | In History, Politics & Policy
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Has the Iraq War damaged America’s bargaining position?
Our diplomatic efforts used to depend on our moral authority, Sorensen says. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy, World
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Has the Iraq War depleted our military and diplomatic capital?
We haven’t spent it all just yet, says Sorensen Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy, World
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Ted Sorensen on Force and Diplomacy
Where does diplomacy fail, and when does force take over? Read More
May 22, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on the Bay of Pigs and Faulty Intelligence
John F. Kennedy publicly admitted his mistake in ordering the Bay of Pigs invasion, and his popularity sky-rocketed. Why are today’s politicians so loathe to admit their mistakes? Read More
May 22, 2008 | In History, Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on the Bay of Pigs and Political Accountability
John F. Kennedy publicly admitted his mistake in ordering the Bay of Pigs invasion, and his popularity sky-rocketed. Why are today’s politicians so loathe to admit their mistakes? Read More
May 22, 2008 | In History, Politics & Policy
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Sorensen’s father was Danish and his mother was Jewish. Their controversial marriage taught Sorensen the value of equality. Read More
May 22, 2008 | In History, Politics & Policy
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Ted Sorensen on Bill Clinton's Legacy
Ted Sorensen says Bill Clinton didn't do enough to make change. Read More
January 31, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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How does this election compare to the 1960 election?
The received wisdom in 1960 was that JFK lost his chance to be president the day he was baptized, Sorensen says. Read More
January 31, 2008
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Not all Kennedy endorsements are created equal. Read More
January 31, 2008
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What does the Obama-Clinton rivalry portend for the Democrats' future?
"The Democratic Party has always had some splits," Sorensen says. Read More
January 31, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
Theodore C. Sorensen, former special counsel and adviser to President John F. Kennedy and a widely published author on the presidency and foreign affairs, practiced international law for more than 36 years as a senior partner, and now of counsel, at the prominent U.S. law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. The former chairman of the firm’s International Practice Committee, he has represented U.S. and multinational corporations in negotiations with governments all over the world and advised and assisted a large number of foreign governments and government leaders, ranging from the late President Sadat of Egypt to former President Mandela of South Africa.
Mr. Sorensen and his team at Paul, Weiss have advised U.S. corporations on factories in Russia and Africa, pipelines in the Caribbean and Latin America, and disputes in the Middle East and North America, and negotiated on their behalf with government officials at the highest level in dozens of countries. He has advised foreign corporations from five continents on investments in the United States and elsewhere, foreign governments on problems with the World Bank, the United Nations, the U.S. government and foreign investors, and on changes in their respective mining, petroleum, investment and election codes, and constitutions.
In 2002, Mr. Sorensen was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Sorensen is on the advisory board of the Foreign Policy Leadership Council, a director of the Council on Foreign Relations (until 2004) and the Century Foundation, a member of the advisory board of the Partnership for a Secure America and an honorary co-chair of the ABA Commission on the Renaissance of Idealism in the Legal Profession. Mr. Sorensen is the author of the 1965 international best seller Kennedy, seven other books on the presidency, politics or foreign policy and numerous articles on those subjects in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times and other publications. As an active figure in the Democratic Party, he has participated in 10 of the last 12 Democratic Party National Conventions and served in a number of governmental, political and civic posts. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he served on the boards of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund (covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and the Commission on White House Fellows. He is experienced in the ways of Washington, the United Nations and the multilateral (World Bank, IFC, etc.) and U.S. (AID, OPIC, etc.) financing institutions.
Mr. Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1928. He is father of three sons, one daughter and is married to Gillian Martin Sorensen, a former New York City commissioner, a former United Nations under-secretary general and current senior advisor and national advocate at the United Nations Foundation. Mr. Sorensen's memoirs, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, were published by HarperCollins in May of 2008.
