Kenneth Duberstein

Kenneth Marc Duberstein (April 21, 1944 – March 2, 2022) was an American lobbyist who served as U.S. president Ronald Reagan's White House Chief of Staff from 1988 to 1989.

Duberstein was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, the son of Jewel (Falb), a teacher, and Aaron Duberstein, a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America.

He graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School and Franklin and Marshall College (A.B. 1965) and American University (M.A. 1966).

His first was as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (1981–1983).

His major accomplishment of this period was pushing Reagan's economic agenda through a Democratic House of Representatives, including the 1982 Tax Bill.

Duberstein was described as Reagan's invisible link to Congress.

He was at the center of the Administrations push for the bill, working on both sides of the political divide.

Prior to 1987, he served on the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, succeeded by Betty Heitman, previously co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

Duberstein founded The Duberstein Group Inc. in 1987.

It is a consulting services company providing corporate consulting and government relations services.

Among its client are Amazon, BP and MLB.

Duberstein was hired by Russian authorities, via Goldman Sachs, to lobby against the Magnitsky Bill (as known as the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act), a bill in the U.S. Congress "to impose sanctions on persons responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky, and for other gross violations of human rights in the Russian Federation".

Duberstein showed discretion and did not discuss his work, leading to an "air of mystery" about him and what he did for his clients.

His second stint was also for two years, first as Deputy Chief of Staff and then for the final six months of the Reagan presidency as White House Chief of Staff (1988–1989).

Eight days after Reagan was on TV and acknowledged the Iran–Contra affair, Duberstein took over as chief of staff.

Around that time, it was revealed that Nancy Reagan had used an astrologer to determine dates for the president's public appearances.

Reagan's presidency had reached a low point; approval rating was at 37%.

His promotion was called a wake-up call for a "drowsy White House".

He came to the job with energy, loyalty, hard work and enthusiasm, having earned the nickname Duderdog; and he made sure to call Nancy twice a day.

He had Reagan give a mea culpa address to the nation; poll numbers went right up and the presidency had been turned around.

Duberstein is said to have been the first Jewish person to be White House Chief of Staff.

Between his White House appointments, he was vice-president and director of Business-Government Relations of the Committee for Economic Development and was a lobbyist as vice president of Timmons & Company.

He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Franklin and Marshall in 1989.

While in college he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau.

Duberstein began his public service on Capitol Hill as an intern for Senator Jacob K. Javits.

His other early government service included Deputy Under Secretary of Labor during the Gerald Ford Administration and Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. General Services Administration.

During Reagan's eight years in office, he had two stints in the White House.

In January 1989, Duberstein was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Reagan.

He was the chairman of the Ethics Committee for the U.S. Olympic Committee and served as vice chairman of the independent Special Bid Oversight Reform Commission for the U.S. Olympics Committee.

He also appeared on Bloomberg alongside John Podesta, and had 23 appearances on C-SPAN.

Beginning in season five, Duberstein was a consultant for the TV show The West Wing.

In 2013, Duberstein was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage in the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.

His position succeeded, as the court would go on to effectively legalize same-sex marriage in California.

Duberstein transitioned from the White House to lobbyist; he was successful, and his insight and advice was sought by leaders of both parties.

In 2020, he established the Public Service Internship Endowment at his alma mater, Franklin and Marshall, assisting F&M students who secure unpaid internships in public service in Washington, D.C. He was on the college's Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2010, and then became an emeritus trustee.

A space at the Franklin and Marshall Patricia E. Harris Center for Business, Government and Public Policy is named for him, the "Duberstein West Wing".

He spoke at the dedication of the center and led fund raising for the building's renovations.

At Harvard Kennedy School, he chaired a senior advisory committee and was a “constant and inspiring presence” to students.

He was an adviser to former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, according to syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who said that Duberstein was a source for David Corn's and Michael Isikoff's book about the Valerie Plame affair in which Armitage was found to be the one who leaked Plame's CIA status to Novak.

Duberstein and Colin Powell became close during his time as chief of staff and Powell's position as National Security Advisor in the Reagan White House.