Stephen Schlesinger

Stephen C. Schlesinger (born August 17, 1942) is an American historian, political commentator, and international affairs specialist. He is a Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York City. He served as director of the World Policy Institute at the New School University from 1997 to 2006. He was foreign policy advisor to New York State Governor Mario Cuomo during his three terms in office.

He has authored and co-authored books, including Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations and Bitter Fruit: The Story of the U.S. Coup in Guatemala. His work spans journalism, public policy, and academia, focusing on foreign relations, political history, and the role of international organizations.

Early life and education Schlesinger was born to Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and Marian Cannon Schlesinger in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His two grandfathers, father, and uncle all held teaching positions at Harvard University. Schlesinger attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School.

Career

Journalism Schlesinger began as a freelance writer investigating the 1967 Algiers Motel murders in Detroit and covering the 1968 Czechoslovakia uprisings against the Soviet occupation. Later he served as special assistant to Edward Logue at the New York State Urban Development Corporation from 1968 to 1969. In the early 1970s, Schlesinger edited and published The New Democrat Magazine, a monthly publication focused on uniting progressive voices within the Democratic Party. The magazine was critical of Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien, and promoted the candidacy of South Dakota Senator George McGovern rather than of Maine Senator Ed Muskie and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey during the 1972 Democratic presidential primaries. He later worked as a staff writer for Time Magazine, where he reported on a variety of domestic and international topics. In the mid-1990s, he joined the United Nations, working with Habitat, the agency focused on urban development and housing.

Academia From 1997 to 2006, Schlesinger was the director of the World Policy Institute at The New School in New York City.

Author Schlesinger's book, Bitter Fruit (1982), co-authored with Stephen Kinzer, was about the 1954 US coup in Guatemala. His subsequent book, about the UN's founding, was Act of Creation (2003), an account of the 1945 San Francisco conference that drafted the UN Charter. In 2007, with his brother, Andrew, he edited his father's Journals 1952-2000 Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (2007) which covers Schlesinger's life through the second half of the twentieth century. Subsequently, Schlesinger co-edited with his brother The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (2013).