Ken Khachigian
| Ken Khachigian | |
|---|---|
| Chief Speechwriter and Special Consultant to the President | |
|
In office January 1981 – May 1981 |
|
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Deputy Special Assistant to the President | |
|
In office 1973–1974 |
|
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Staff Assistant to the President | |
|
In office 1970–1972 |
|
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 14, 1944 Visalia, California |
| Nationality | Armenian-American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | UC Santa Barbara (B.A.) Columbia Law School (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Political Consultant, Speechwriter, Attorney |
Kenneth L. Khachigian (born September 14, 1944, in Visalia, California) is an Armenian-American political consultant, speechwriter, and attorney. He is best known for being a longtime aide to President Richard Nixon and chief speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan.
He served as chief speechwriter on Reagan's successful 1980 presidential campaign, and continued as chief speechwriter in the Reagan administration, writing Reagan's first inaugural address, his three main economic speeches, and the welcome home speech to the Iranian hostages. Although he resigned after several months to return to the private sector in California, he continued to write many of the major political and policy speeches as chief speechwriter on Reagan's successful 1984 re-election campaign and throughout the second term, including the 1984 nomination acceptance speech, the 1985 remarks at the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, and the 1988 Republican National Convention farewell address.
He is a veteran of nine presidential campaigns. Most recently, he served as a senior advisor to the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole (1996), John McCain (2000), and Fred Thompson (2008).
Khachigian was born September 14, 1944, in Visalia, California. He was raised with his three brothers on a 60-acre,cotton, walnut, and grape farm founded by his paternal grandfather, who had escaped from Armenia ahead of the Armenian genocide and immigrated to the United States in 1912.
He attended Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, where he was elected sophomore, junior, and senior class president, and graduated in 1962.
He received his BA in political science, with honors, from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966 and his JD from Columbia Law School in 1969.
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