Anthony Rossi Dolan (July 7, 1948 – March 10, 2025) was an American journalist and speechwriter who wrote for President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

from March 1981 until the end of Reagan's second term in 1989.Appointment of Anthony R. Dolan as Special Assistant to the President and Chief Speechwriter
UCSB American Presidency Project, November 17, 1981 Dolan served as the director of special research and Issues and in the Office of Research and Policy at the Headquarters of the Reagan-Bush Committee. He continued to advise Republican candidates and presidential administrations throughout the remainder of his life.

Background

Anthony Rossi Dolan was born in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

, on July 7, 1948, one of three children born to a Catholic family. He was active in Republican politics from an early age. Dolan was educated at

Fairfield College Preparatory School Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Career

After a few years in politics, including as a press secretary for

James L. Buckley James Lane Buckley (March 9, 1923 – August 18, 2023) was an American politician, jurist, diplomat, and author. Buckley served in the United States Senate as a member of the Conservative Party of New York State, held multiple positions within ...

during the

1970 United States Senate election in New York The 1970 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 3, 1970, to elect New York's Classes of United States senators, Class I Senator in its List of United States senators from New York, delegation. Representative Charles Goo ...

, Dolan returned to Connecticut and went into journalism, writing for ''

The Stamford Advocate ''The Advocate'' is a seven-day daily newspaper based in Stamford, Connecticut, Stamford, Connecticut. The paper is owned and operated by Hearst Communications, a multinational corporation, multinational corporate media conglomerate with $4 billi ...

''. At age 29, he won the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

Pulitzer Prize for Local Investigative Specialized Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

for a series of articles on municipal corruption published in ''The Advocate''. He left the paper upon joining the Reagan administration, where he remained for nearly the entirety of the Reagan presidency. As speechwriter, he wrote the speeches "

Ash Heap of History The phrase "ash heap of history", is a derogatory metaphoric reference to oblivion of things no longer relevant. In 1887 the English essayist Augustine Birrell (1850–1933) coined the term in his series of essays, "Obiter Dicta": ''that great ...

" (1982) and "

Evil Empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They are ...

" (1983). During the presidency of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, Dolan served as Senior Advisor in the office of Secretary of State (December 2000 to July 2001) and Special Advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (August 2001 to December 2007). He remained active in politics until the end of his life, and was named to advise the

United States Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, and includes Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet members and White Hous ...

during the

second presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon Second inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration as the List of presidents of the United States, 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first ...

in January 2025. Under the name Tony Dolan he had been, for a time, a conservative folk-singer who put out the album "Cry, The Beloved Country" and appeared on ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...

''.

Personal life and death

Dolan was a devout Catholic. His late brother Terry Dolan was co-founder and chairman of the

National Conservative Political Action Committee The National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC; pronounced "nick-pack"), based in Alexandria, Virginia, was a New Right political action committee in the United States that was a major contributor to the ascendancy of conservative R ...

(NCPAC).Elizabeth Kastor (1987), The Cautious Closet of the Gay Conservative; In the Life and Death of Terry Dolan, Mirror Images From the Age of AIDS, ''The Washington Post'', May 11, 1987 Dolan died at

Inova Alexandria Hospital Inova Alexandria Hospital is a not-for-profit hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1872 as the Alexandria Infirmary, it became part of Northern Virginia's Inova Health System in 1997. The hospital is notable for its early c ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, on March 10, 2025, at the age of 76.

Notes

External links

Ronald Reagan Library Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Anthony R. 1948 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American folk singers American newspaper people American speechwriters American anti-corruption activists Catholics from Connecticut Connecticut Republicans Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners Reagan administration personnel White House directors of speechwriting Yale College alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Second Trump administration personnel