Alfred S. Regnery (born November 21, 1942) is an American conservative lawyer, author, and former publisher.Alfred Regnery, Publisher, The American Spectator; Author, The Ascendance of American Conservatism

Commonwealth Club of California The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to everyone. Act ...

, June 2, 2008

Background

Alfred S. Regnery was born on November 21, 1942, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He is the son of

Henry Regnery Henry Regnery (1912–1996) was a conservative American publisher who founded the newspaper ''Human Events'' (1944) and the Henry Regnery Company (1947) and published Russell Kirk's ''The Conservative Mind'' (1953). Jeffrey O. Nelson, 'Henry Regn ...

(1912–1996), founder of

Regnery Publishing Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947, and is now a division of radio broadcaster Salem Media Group. It is led by President & Publisher Thomas ...

, a conservative publishing house founded in 1947. Regnery graduated from

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and h ...

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sen ...

, in 1965 and received a J.D. from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, in 1971.

Career

Early in his career, Regnery served as college director of the

Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizati ...

, as a Senate aide, and the Lands Division of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

under President Ronald Reagan. In 1976, Regnery ran for district attorney in Madison, Wisconsin. During that campaign, his wife reported several threatening phone calls. Regnery publicized allegations to the police that his wife had been injured and forced to have sexual acts with men who had broken into their home. During the investigation, police found no evidence to substantiate the claims and allegedly discovered a "stash of pornography" in the Regnery home. Regnery served as a legal counsel to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and to the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. From 1981 to 1986, Regnery served as deputy assistant attorney general of the Land and Natural Resources Division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. In 1983, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as administrator of the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of Justice Programs. The OJJDP publishes the JRFC Databook on even numbered years for informat ...

, and he worked on the

Meese Report The Meese Report (named for Edwin Meese), officially the ''Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography'', is the result of an investigation into pornography ordered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. It was published in July 1 ...

. On May 21, 1986, Regnery resigned his position as administrator "abruptly" to return to the family business. Regnery was president of Regnery Publishing from 1986 to 2003. In 1993, he sold Regnery Publishing to Eagle Publishing and took a board position at Eagle. (Eagle Publishing was owned by Tom Philips, a Republican donor.) He was also a partner at the

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-based law firm Keller and Heckman LLP until 2003. From 2003 to 2012, Regnery was the publisher of ''

The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor- ...

''. Regnery is managing director of the Paul Revere Project for Salem Eagle, a subsidiary of

Salem Communications Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...

(which also bought the Regnery imprint) and has served on Salem Eagle's board since 1993.

Associations

In 1995, Regnery co-founded the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund; in 2014, he became chairman of its board, which included

Edwin Meese III Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pre ...

J. Kenneth Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948) is an American politician, author, and conservative activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1979–80), the Ohio State Treasurer (1994–99), and Ohio Secretary of State (1999–2007). ...

, Ron Hosko, and

Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, h ...

as directors. Currently, he serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsor ...

. Regnery served as trustee of the

Philadelphia Society The Philadelphia Society is a membership organization the purpose of which is "to sponsor the interchange of ideas through discussion and writing, in the interest of deepening the intellectual foundation of a free and ordered society, and of bro ...

from 2011 to 2014. Other entities with which he has been associated include the Committee for Western Civilization, American Foreign Policy Council,

Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to contro ...

, International Policy Forum,

Institute of World Politics The Institute of World Politics (IWP) is a private graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in Washington DC, and Reston, Virginia. Founded in 1990, it offers courses related to intelligence, national sec ...

, Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation,

Leadership Institute The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia that teaches "political technology." The institute was founded in 1979 by conservative activist Morton Blackwell. Its mission is to "increase the nu ...

, Westminster Institute, White House Writers Group, Hillsdale College,

Morton Blackwell Morton C. Blackwell (born November 16, 1939, La Jara, Colorado) is an American conservative activist. He is the founder and president of the Leadership Institute (established 1979), a 501(c)3 non-profit educational foundation that teaches polit ...

, James Lucier Jr.,

Robert R. Reilly Robert R. Reilly (born October 31, 1946) is a writer, think tank executive and former diplomat. He has published on topics of US foreign policy and the "war of ideas." Reilly is also known as a classical music critic who has written for periodical ...

, Robert Schadler, and Howard Segermark.

Personal life

In 1969, Regnery married Christina S. Sparrow, who died in 2007; they had four children. His cousin was William Regnery II, political activist and donor, founder of the

National Policy Institute The National Policy Institute (NPI) is a white supremacist think tank and lobbying group which is based in Alexandria, Virginia. It lobbies for white supremacists and the alt-right. Its president is Richard B. Spencer. It has been largely ina ...

(NPI), and employer (through NPI) of

Richard B. Spencer Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 1978) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. A former editor, he is a public speaker and activist on behalf of the alt-right movement. He advocates for the r ...

Works

* ''U.S. direct marketing law : the complete handbook for managers'' with Richard J. Leighton (1993) * ''Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism'' (2008) * ''Unlikely pilgrim'' (2019)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Regnery, Alfred S. 1942 births Living people Beloit College alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. American magazine publishers (people) The American Spectator people Washington, D.C., Republicans American male writers Wisconsin Republicans People from Chicago Wisconsin lawyers Regnery family