CV NEWS FEED // Anthony “Tony” Dolan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who became President Ronald Reagan’s chief speechwriter and a defining voice of the Cold War, died March 10 of natural causes. He was 77.
Dolan, who famously penned Reagan’s 1983 “Evil Empire” speech, was a key figure in shaping the rhetoric of the Reagan administration and had a prolific career spanning journalism, speechwriting, and high-level advisory roles across multiple presidencies.
His passing comes just days after the 42nd anniversary of the “Evil Empire” speech, delivered by Reagan on March 8, 1983, to the National Association of Evangelicals.
A defining moment of the era, the speech framed communism as a moral evil and reinforced America’s commitment to freedom. Reagan said in the speech,
“I urge you to beware the temptation of pride — the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and labeling both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.”
At just 29 years old, Dolan won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1978 while working for The Stamford Advocate, where his exposés uncovered corruption in the Stamford Police Department and ties to organized crime. His reporting led to the resignation of multiple officials and several federal investigations.
Dolan, a Yale University graduate, also served in the U.S. Army as a Specialist 4 and was awarded the Department of Defense’s Medal for Public Service in recognition of his contributions.
He joined the Reagan administration in 1981 and remained for all eight years of Reagan’s presidency — making him the only senior staff member to serve the entire administration.
“Tony’s ability to distill complex ideas into powerful, memorable speeches helped define the Reagan presidency and shaped the course of the Cold War,” said Fred Ryan, Chairman of the Board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, in a March 14 statement on Dolan’s passing.
Beyond the “Evil Empire” speech, Dolan worked closely with Reagan on other landmark addresses, including the “Ash Heap of History” speech in London and the “Tear Down This Wall” speech in Berlin.
Delivered on June 12, 1987, before the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, the “Tear Down This Wall” speech was a direct challenge to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to remove the Berlin Wall, the Cold War’s most visible symbol of communist oppression.
“Tony understood that words could change the world, and time and again, he proved it,” Ryan said. “His intellect, passion for conservative principles, and unwavering belief in America defined his life.”
After the Reagan years, Dolan continued his public service as an advisor to President George H.W. Bush, Colin Powell’s senior adviser at the State Department, and a special adviser to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for over six years. He also contributed to multiple presidential campaigns, including those of Fred Thompson (2008), Newt Gingrich (2012), and Ted Cruz (2016).
In 2017, he joined the Trump administration as a special assistant and advisor on planning, and in 2025, he was appointed special assistant for domestic policy in Donald Trump’s second administration.
Dolan had a brother, Terry, and sister, Maiselle, who both preceded him in death. They grew up in a conservative Catholic family, and each of the Dolan siblings became involved in Republican politics.
In addition to his political work, Dolan was a folk singer who recorded the album “Cry, The Beloved Country” and produced media campaigns for candidates and advocacy groups.
On the final day of Reagan’s presidency, the outgoing president left Dolan a handwritten note calling him “keeper of the flame.”
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