Richard Neustadt served as adviser to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he worked for the Bureau of the Budget and then joined the White House staff as an Administrative Adviser. Mr. Neustadt advised President Kennedy on staff appointments and undertook a major study of the cancellation of the Skybolt Project, an air-to-ground missile which, prior to 1963, was thought to be the most effective means of demonstrating U.S. nuclear power. He played a vital role in the development of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, helping to shape the school’s curriculum and directing the Institute of Politics from 1966-1971.
1919 Born, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1939 A.B., University of California, Berkeley
1941 M.A., Harvard University
1941-1942 Assistant Economist, Office of Price Administration
1942-1946 Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
1946-1950 Assistant to Director, Bureau of the Budget
1950-1953 Special assistant, White House Staff
1951 Ph.D., Harvard University
1953-1954 Assistant Professor of Government, Cornell University
1954-1965 Professor of Government, Columbia University
1956 Staff member, Democratic Platform Committee
1957 Visiting Professor, Princeton University
1959-1968 Consultant, Senate Subcommittee on National Policy Machinery; Senate Subcommittee on National Security Staffing and Operations
1960 Member and Consultant, Democratic Platform Committee
1960-1961 Consultant to President-elect Kennedy
1961-1970 Consultant, Bureau of the Budget
1962 Consultant, Ford Foundation
1962-1968 Consultant, Atomic Energy Commission
1962-1969 Consultant, Department of State
1964 Consultant, Rand Corporation
1965-1989 Professor of Government, Harvard University
1965-1975 Associate Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
1966-1971 Director, Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
1972 Chairman, Democratic Platform Committee
2003 Died, London, England
Author
Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership from FDR to Carter, 1960.
Alliance Politics, 1970.
The Epidemic That Never Was, 1983.
Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-makers (with Ernest R. May), 1986.
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan, 1990.
Report to JFK: The Skybolt Crisis in Perspective, 1999.
Preparing to Be President: The Memos of Richard E. Neustadt, 2000.
See Also
Archives and Manuscripts