Richard Vincent Allen (January 1, 1936 – November 16, 2024) wasUnited States National Security Advisor under PresidentRonald Reagan from 1981 to 1982. In 1977, prior to Reagan's presidential election in November 1980, he served as Reagan's chief foreign policy advisor. Afterwards, he became a fellow at theHoover Institution.^[1] He was a member of theDefense Policy Board Advisory Committee.

Richard V. Allen
Allen in 1981
10thUnited States National Security Advisor
In office January 21, 1981 – January 4, 1982
President	Ronald Reagan
Deputy	James W. Nance
Preceded by	Zbigniew Brzezinski
Succeeded by	William P. Clark Jr.
5thUnited States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office 1969
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Francis M. Bator
Succeeded by	Alexander Haig
Personal details
Born	Richard Vincent Allen (1936-01-01)January 1, 1936 Collingswood, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 16, 2024(2024-11-16) (aged 88) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Patricia Mason ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	7
Alma mater	University of Notre Dame (BA,MA)

Allen was born inCollingswood, New Jersey, on January 1, 1936, the son of Magdalen (Buchman) and Charles Carroll Allen.^[2][3][4] A graduate of Saint Francis Preparatory School inSpring Grove, Pennsylvania,^{[citation needed]} Allen received hisB.A. andM.A degrees from theUniversity of Notre Dame.^[5] His M.A. from Notre Dame is inpolitical science.^[1]

From 1962 to 1966, Allen worked at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies.^[3] He then joined theHoover Institution as a senior staff member of from 1966 to 1968, when he left to become foreign policy coordinator toRichard Nixon. He served twice in the NixonWhite House.^[1] He was thenRonald Reagan's chief foreign policy advisor from 1977 to 1980, before being appointed Reagan's firstNational Security Advisor.^[1]

In July 2000, Allen wrote an article forThe New York Times, detailing his role in the recruitment ofGeorge H. W. Bush to be Reagan'svice president.^[6]

In November 1981, while serving as Reagan'sNational Security Advisor, Allen was accused of receiving abribe from a Japanese journalist for setting up an interview in January 1981 with First LadyNancy Reagan. In his diary,Ronald Reagan wrote that the Japanese magazine gave cash gifts to people that it interviewed, and that Allen had stepped in to intercept the check to avoid embarrassment for Nancy Reagan, then gave the check to his secretary, who put it in an office safe. When Allen changed offices, the check was found left in the safe. TheFBI cleared everyone involved, and then theJustice Department began its own investigation, and the story was leaked to the press.

Reagan believed that political sabotage was behind the leaking of the story. A classified U.S. government source later revealed that Allen and his Potomac Associates partners were caught soliciting bribes, paid as "consulting fees" from Japanese corporations. Japanese security operations reported the crime to the U.S. Embassy inTokyo and requested the U.S. government quietly handle the removal.^[7] Although the claims were never proven, Allen was pressured to take a leave of absence.^[8] On January 4, 1982, he resigned and his position was filled by his deputy,James W. Nance.^[3]

In 1981, Allen said that an unidentified third country, possiblyCanada, had passed on an offer of 50Vietnam WarPOWs in return for $4 billion. In lengthy, closed-door testimony under oath to committee investigators on June 23, 1992, he generally confirmed Hanoi's 1981 offer. Allen was asked by a committee staffer, "Soon after taking office, did theReagan administration become involved in an offer made by the Vietnamese government for the return of live prisoners of war, if you can recall?"

Allen responded, "This $4 billion figure sticks in my mind, and I remember writing something—I don't know whether it was during a meeting with the president or to him—saying that it would be worth the president's going along and let's have the negotiation…"

Then Allen was asked, "Do you recall whether the $4 billion was for live American prisoners? To which he replied, "Yes, I do if it was $4 billion, it was indeed for live prisoners." When asked how many POWs he believed were still being held, he replied, "Dozens, hundreds."He later recanted and no other official has supported the statement in public.^[9]

Allen became a senior fellow atStanford University'sHoover Institution, and a member ofThe Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center Advisory Council, theCouncil on Foreign Relations, theUnited States Defense Policy Board, the American Alternative Foundation, and the United States National Security Advisory Group. He also served on the advisory council of the Nixon Center.

Allen was president of the Richard V. Allen Company, aWashington D.C.-based consulting services firm. He provided consulting services to international companies and organizations. He served onAPCO Worldwide's Iraq reconstruction task force and is considered one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington, D.C. for South Korea's interests.^[10]

Allen was also a fellow ofSt Margaret's College, Otago, a residential college inNew Zealand.^[11]

In 1957, Allen married Patricia Ann Mason, and they had seven children.^[2] In later years, Allen divided his time betweenDenver, Colorado, andLong Beach Island, New Jersey. He died at a Denver hospital on November 16, 2024, at the age of 88.^[2]

• Allen, Richard V. (1966).Peace and Peaceful Coexistence. Chicago: American Bar Association, 1966.
• Allen, Richard V. (1967).Communism and Democracy: Theory and Action. Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1967.
• Allen, Richard V. (1969).Yearbook On International Communist Affairs 1968. Hoover Institution Press.ISBN 0-8179-1801-9.

• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Letter to President Bush on the War on Terrorism^[usurped], co-signed by Allen, September 20, 2001
• Interview with Miller Center of Public Affairs – Presidential Oral History Program
• "Richard Allen" at Militarist Monitor