Richard Bitner ("Dick") Wirthlin (March 15, 1931March 16, 2011) was a prominent American

pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a survey (human research), human research survey of public opinion from a particular sampling (statistics), sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

, who is best known as Ronald Reagan's chief strategist, serving as his political consultant and pollster for twenty years, from 1968 through the end of his

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. He became a senior adviser and member of Reagan's inner circle and is known to have helped him shape his political message and strategies, both in presidential campaigns and in the White House. Wirthlin also was a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) and a member of its

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of J ...

from 1996 to 2001.

Early life

Wirthin was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, the son of Madeline Bitner and Joseph L. Wirthlin, who later served as presiding bishop of the LDS Church. As a young adult, he spent two years as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

, serving in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

from 1951 to 1953. Wirthlin was assigned to

Basel, Switzerland Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...

for his entire mission. After finishing his missionary service, Wirthlin obtained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in economics and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. From 1954 to 1955 he served in the United States army. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Career in polling firm and politics

In 1969, Wirthlin founded a survey research firm based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Over the years the firm had various names, including ''Decision Making Information, Inc.'', ''The Wirthlin Group'', and finally, ''Wirthlin Worldwide''. The firm was acquired in 2004 by Harris Interactive. After the merger with Harris Interactive, Wirthlin served on its board of directors. In 1980, when

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

governor

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 ...

decided to run for president, he turned to Wirthlin for political advice. Wirthlin, together with his consulting firm, played a pivotal role in both the 1980 and 1984 elections of Reagan. According to the book ''The Neglected Voter'', Wirthlin was the author of Reagan's historic 1980 campaign plan and foresaw the rise of so-called "Reagan Democrats". After Reagan won the 1980 presidential election, Wirthlin moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and continued to assist the president and the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. His work on the first Reagan campaign earned him the title, ''Adman of the Year'', declared by

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...

. In addition to consulting work, he was the author of two books and at least one podcast: * ''The Greatest Communicator: What Ronald Reagan Taught Me about Politics, Leadership, and Life'', co-authored with

Wynton Hall Wynton C. Hall is an American author and the managing editor and social media director of ''Breitbart News''. He is also the owner of Wynton Hall & Co, a celebrity ghostwriting and communications agency, and a communication strategist for the Gove ...

, Published in 2004, the book describes his years working with former president Ronald Reagan * ''Estrategia Electoral: Persuadir Por La Razon, Motivar Por La Emocion, La Estrategia De La Comunicacion Politica'', published in 1995 * Podcast on ''Entrprenuerism'', February 12, 2007

LDS Church service

Among many other ecclesiastical assignments over the years, Wirthlin served for a time as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the LDS Church. In 1995, Wirthlin returned to his native Utah. In 1996, Wirthlin was asked by LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Gordon B. Hinckley to serve as a church general authority. Wirthlin served as a member of the church's Second Quorum of the Seventy until October 2001, when he was honorably released from his duties.

Family

On 23 November 1956, Wirthlin married Jeralie Mae Chandler in the LDS Church's

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

. They became the parents of eight children. Wirthlin has several relatives who have held prominent leadership positions of the LDS Church. His father was the presiding bishop from 1952 to 1961. His older brother, Joseph B. Wirthlin, was an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

and a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

from 1986 to 2008. Hinckley—who served as church president from 1995 to 2008—was his

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

on his mother's side.

Death

Wirthlin died of

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

in his

home one day after his eightieth birthday. He was buried in the

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located north of 4th Avenue and east of N Street ...

Notes

References

External links

Richard Wirthlin papers
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wirthlin, Richard 1931 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American political consultants Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Writers from Salt Lake City Deaths from kidney failure in the United States Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Utah Republicans Pollsters Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C.