1. Ken Khachigian is best known for being a longtime aide to President Richard Nixon and chief speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan.
23 Facts About Ken Khachigian
1. 2.
Ken Khachigian served as chief speechwriter on Reagan's successful 1980 presidential campaign.
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Ken Khachigian 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.
4.
Ken Khachigian received his Bachelor of Arts in political science, with honors, from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966 and his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1969.
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Ken Khachigian wrote to the campaign, offering to volunteer and in December 1967, he was hired by Pat Buchanan to work in the New York campaign headquarters answering letters between classes at law school.
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Ken Khachigian went on to handle small research projects, such as locating quotations and figures for Nixon speeches.
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Ken Khachigian became involved in the 1970 congressional midterm elections, writing speeches and preparing political analyses.
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In early 1973, Ken Khachigian transferred to the President's speechwriting staff, working under chief speechwriter David Gergen, with the title of deputy special assistant to the President.
9.
Ken Khachigian worked for President Gerald Ford for two months, until the fall of 1974.
10.
Ken Khachigian then moved to San Clemente, California to assist Nixon with his presidential memoirs.
11.
Nixon's memoirs were completed in the spring of 1978 Ken Khachigian continued to work for Nixon for an additional year, assisting with several post-publication activities, including organizing briefing books for Nixon's trips to Europe and outlining ideas for speeches.
12.
Ken Khachigian joined Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, having been recruited by Reagan's campaign manager, Stu Spencer.
13.
Ken Khachigian traveled on the campaign plane to punch up speeches between campaign stops.
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Ken Khachigian helped coin the term "fatally flawed", which was used throughout the campaign, referencing the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II with the Soviet Union.
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In 1981, Ken Khachigian was named chief speechwriter and special consultant to the President.
16.
Ken Khachigian wrote the 1984 nomination acceptance speech and was one of only two campaign aides who accompanied President Reagan aboard Air Force One throughout his landslide re-election.
17.
In May 1985, Reagan delivered a Ken Khachigian-crafted speech at the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.
18.
Ken Khachigian traveled with Quayle for 10 weeks through election day, preparing him for debates and writing campaign speeches.
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Ken Khachigian has been active in California elections since the early 1980s.
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Ken Khachigian is regarded as the "lion" of California GOP politics.
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Ken Khachigian counseled Pete Wilson in his winning US Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, and in 1998 guided the successful statewide retention election of California Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin.
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Ken Khachigian ran Dole's California campaign and oversaw all scheduling and issue planning for the state.
23.
Ken Khachigian has been honored for public service by the 4-H Clubs of America, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian Eyecare Project, The Armenian Educational Foundation, the Armenian National Committee, and the Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center.