Biography of Charles Krauthammer
March 14, 2008| By Nathaniel Ward
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and named by The Financial Times as the most influential commentator in America, Charles Krauthammer challenges conventional wisdom with practically every word he writes. Which is why he has been honored from every part of the political spectrum for his bold, lucid and original writing – from the famously liberal People for the American Way (which presented him their First Amendment Award) to the staunchly conservative Bradley Foundation (which awarded him their first $250,000 Bradley Prize). Krauthammer writes a syndicated column for The Washington Post for which he won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary. It is published weekly in over 190 newspapers worldwide. He also writes a monthly essay for TIME magazine, is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard and The New Republic, and is a weekly panelist on Inside Washington and a contributor to FOX News.
For two decades, his influential writings have helped frame the very shape of American foreign policy. He coined and developed The Reagan Doctrine (TIME, April 1985), defined the structure of the post-Cold War world in The Unipolar Moment (Foreign Affairs, Winter 1990/1991), and outlined the principles of post-9/11 American foreign policy in his much-debated Irving Kristol Lecture, Democratic Realism (AEI Press, March 2004).
Born in New York City and raised in Montreal, Krauthammer was educated at McGill University (B.A. 1970), Oxford University (Commonwealth Scholar in Politics) and Harvard (M.D. 1975). While serving as a resident and then chief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, he published scientific papers, including his co-discovery of a form of bipolar disease, that continue to be cited in the psychiatric literature.
In 1978, he quit medical practice, came to Washington to direct planning in psychiatric research in the Carter administration, and began contributing articles to The New Republic. During the Presidential campaign of 1980, he served as a speechwriter to Vice President Walter Mondale. He joined The New Republic as a writer and editor in 1981. His New Republicwritings won the 1984 National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism, the highest award in magazine journalism.
From 2001 to 2006, he served on the President’s Council on Bioethics. He is a founding board member of Washington’s Shoresh Hebrew High School, president of The Krauthammer Foundation and chairman of Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization dedicated to the recovery and performance of lost classical Jewish music.
Krauthammer lives in suburban Washington with Robyn, an artist. Their son, Daniel, is a student at Oxford University.