Statement on the Passing of Kenneth M. Duberstein
The American Security Project (ASP) was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the passing of Kenneth M. Duberstein. Mr. Duberstein was a member of the American Security Project Board of Directors from 2007 until 2010 and served as ASP Secretary from 2008 until 2010.
A long-time public servant, Mr. Duberstein entered government service in 1970, joining the General Services Administration (GSA), and became the director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for GSA in 1972. Under the administration of President Gerald R. Ford, Duberstein served as deputy undersecretary of Labor from 1976 until 1977. Mr. Duberstein re-entered government service in January 1981, advising President Ronald Reagan on legislative affairs, rising to Deputy Chief of Staff, and then serving as White House Chief of Staff. Apropos of today’s geopolitical crisis with Russia, in 1987, Duberstein accompanied Reagan to the Berlin Wall, where the President issued his famous challenge to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” In 1988, Duberstein served as administration coordinator for the transition to the incoming George H. W. Bush Administration.
Upon joining ASP’s board in 2007, Duberstein said: “There is no more important task than improving the public dialogue on national security so that we again speak and act as one nation. The new bipartisan consensus on national security ASP is trying to forge is urgently needed and I look forward to contributing to its efforts.”
Hearing of his passing, Governor Christine Todd Whitman, chairperson of the American Security Project Board of Directors, said: “Ken was a strong voice in Washington for decades, working to build bipartisan consensus on a range of national security and economic policy matters. As an early leader at ASP, he was a central member of a group dedicated to meaningful dialogue and committed to articulating a new vision for American security. We send our most sincere condolences to Ken’s family.”
ASP President, Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip, USAF (Ret.), said: “Ken honorably and effectively served his country and advised several Presidents in multiple roles. At ASP he brought a commitment to building a stronger American political consensus and a pragmatic eye for policy remedies into our debates. He will be deeply missed by all of us who had the chance to work with him.”
