Former presidential speechwriter and Central Valley native Ken Khachigian will be speaking at Fresno State in September.
Khachigian, who worked for Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, recently published his memoir: “Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Regan and Nixon.”
The big picture: Khachigian, who was born in Visalia, will talk about his memoir on Sep. 5 in an event hosted by the President’s Office, The Maddy Institute, and the Armenian Studies Program.
- Guests will have an opportunity to get the book signed by Khachigian after his talk.
Driving the news: Khachigian grew up on a family farm in Visalia and attended UC Santa Barbara and Columbia Law School, where he graduated in 1969.
- He got his start in politics with the Nixon presidential campaign in 1967 while he was still in law school.
- Nixon took office in 1969 and brought Khachigian on board. Khachigian worked as a speechwriter and researcher, as well as in other capacities for Nixon.
- He briefly stayed on with President Gerald Ford but left to help Nixon write his memoirs.
- Khachigian worked for the Reagan campaign in 1980 as a speechwriter and became Reagan’s chief speechwriter and special consultant in 1981.
- He also worked with former California Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson.
