Bio
Ken Khachigian served as trusted speechwriter, confidant and strategist to political legends and presidential giants Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Whether in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, at Camp David or the Western White House, Khachigian was an eyewitness and insider to the 20th century’s greatest historical moments.
Widely regarded as the President’s favorite speechwriter, the remarks Khachigian crafted for Reagan’s delivery in 1985 at Bergen Belsen’s former concentration camp was described as the “best speech of his career.” Khachigian quickly mastered Reagan’s speaking style and gained his confidence after joining the candidate’s struggling 1980 presidential campaign – earning the distinction from political writer Anthony York as “an architect of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 White House victory.”
Appointed Special Consultant to the President and senior White House staff member, they formed a unique personal relationship, beginning with Reagan’s acclaimed First Inaugural Address. Khachigian collaborated to craft language shaping the historic economic recovery plan that marked the fiscal revolution for America’s turnaround and renewed the national spirit. Khachigian teamed up with Reagan to prepare dozens of other prominent public addresses. Among them were Reagan’s re-election announcement and convention acceptance speeches in 1984, critical foreign policy remarks at the UN General Assembly, State of the Union remarks and speeches before Joint Sessions of Congress. Preparing to leave office, the President asked Ken to draft his dramatic 1988 Farewell Address to the Republican National Convention.
For the 1984 re-election, Khachigian took the lead as Issues and Research Director, Chief Speechwriter and Senior Political Adviser while serving aboard Air Force One on the President’s senior strategy team. He scripted and interviewed the President for the lauded 1984 documentary, “Morning Again in America,” drafted his re-election campaign kickoff speech, and remarks for Reagan’s historic whistle-stop tour that re-created Harry Truman’s 1948 “hell-raising” campaign route through southern Ohio.
Time Magazine called Khachigian Reagan’s “word wizard,” and Newsweek labelled him a “lusty polemicist” with a “gift for Reagan’s gab.” The Associated Press named Ken as the speechwriter “regarded as perhaps the best Reagan has had.” Diane Sawyer observed, “Ken has an ear for the common. He has a feel for the vernacular, for the way to reach the emotions that a lot of people feel... It’s a great political gift.”
Khachigian is a native of Visalia, California, where he and his three brothers grew up working on their parents’ family farm. An Honors graduate in Political Science at U.C. Santa Barbara, he served as Student Body President and was later honored as Alumni of the Year. While a second-year law student at Columbia University – from which he earned his Juris Doctor – Khachigian was hired by Pat Buchanan to volunteer on Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign and subsequently reported as a research assistant to domestic policy chief Alan Greenspan. From 1970 to 1974 he served as Staff Assistant and Deputy Assistant to the President for communications, politics, and speechwriting. When Nixon returned to San Clemente, he asked Ken to join as editorial consultant and personal assistant for the preparation of his memoirs and to coordinate research for the historic televised interviews with David Frost. Ken was portrayed by actor Gabriel Jarret in the motion picture, “Frost/Nixon.”
Throughout Nixon’s post-presidency, Khachigian remained a close personal and political confidant to the former president and was instrumental in the siting and opening of his presidential library. The bond with the two presidents opened the doors to Ken’s unique role in political history while acting as Nixon’s confidential intermediary with Ronald Reagan in the 1980 and 1984 presidential campaigns as well as throughout the Reagan presidency.
Ken has participated in nine presidential campaigns, including roles as manager of Bob Dole’s 1996 statewide California campaign, and John McCain’s national senior adviser in 2000. He was principal strategist for George Deukmejian’s two winning gubernatorial campaigns and counseled Pete Wilson in his successful elections for U.S. Senate and governor. Senior west coast political observer, Carla Marinucci described Khachigian as “the ‘lion’ of California politics,” and legendary political commentator Bob Novak labeled Ken “perhaps the state’s premier Republican strategist and wordsmith.” Throughout his career, Khachigian’s political insight was sought by state and national news media, and he frequently lectures before business groups and national associations on government affairs and politics and writes periodic columns for the Wall Street Journal. For two and a half years, he wrote a popular biweekly column for the Los Angeles Times
An active participant in state and national civic affairs, Khachigian has served on the Boards of the Hoover Institution, the Richard Nixon Foundation, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, the Armenian Assembly of America as well as serving as on the Board of Trustees of the UCSB Foundation, the Board of Regents of the Orange County Council of Boy Scouts, and the Advisory Board of the Armenian Eyecare Project. He has received multiple honors and recognition for his service in the Armenian-American community by the Armenian-American Museum and Cultural Center, the Armenian Eyecare Project, the Armenian National Committee, and the Deukmejian Award for Public Service. Given his prominence in the community, he has been listed with William Saroyan, Kirk Kerkorian, George Deukmejian, Charles Aznavour, and Cher among “100 Armenians Who Changed the World.”