Richard Vincent Allen (January 1, 1936 – November 16, 2024) was the United States National Security Advisor under President Ronald 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 the Hoover Institution. A graduate of Saint Francis Preparatory School in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Allen received his B.A. and M.A degrees from the University of Notre Dame. His M.A. from Notre Dame is in political science.
Career
thumb|Allen and President [[Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office on January 21, 1981]]
thumb|Allen (standing on left) with Reagan and other [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration cabinet members in the White House in May 1981]]
From 1962 to 1966, Allen worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
National Security Advisor (1981–1982)
In November 1981, while serving as Reagan's National Security Advisor, Allen was accused of receiving a bribe from a Japanese journalist for setting up an interview in January 1981 with First Lady Nancy 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. The FBI cleared everyone involved, and then the Justice 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 in Tokyo and requested the U.S. government quietly handle the removal. Although the claims were never proven, Allen was pressured to take a leave of absence. On January 4, 1982, he resigned and his position was filled by his deputy, James W. Nance.
Post-Reagan administration career
Allen became a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and a member of The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center Advisory Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United 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, a Washington D.C.-based consulting services firm. He provided consulting services to international companies and organizations. He served on APCO Worldwide's Iraq reconstruction task force and is considered one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington, D.C. for South Korea's interests.
Allen was also a fellow of St Margaret's College, Otago, a residential college in New Zealand.
Personal life and death
In 1957, Allen married Patricia Ann Mason, and they had seven children.