Peter Robinson (speechwriter)

Peter Robinson was a speechwriter for US President Ronald Reagan who authored the sentence, "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!" in a speech delivered in West Berlin. On arrival in Berlin he was warned by US diplomats to avoid cold war rhetoric in Reagan's speech and that Berliners had adjusted to the presence of the Berlin Wall. On consultation with local Berliners he, however, found them deeply wounded and concerned about the wall, which in many instances had separated families and represented an intrusion of a police state into daily life.

Related Topics:
Speechwriter - Ronald Reagan - Tear down this wall! - West Berlin - Cold war rhetoric - Berlin Wall - Police state

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On return to Washington while working on the speech the phrase became controversial, although Reagan liked it, with the State Department, and other experts and repeated attempts were made to delete it from the speech. Reagan overruled them, wishing to communicate not only with Berliners but with East Germans on the other side of the wall.

Related Topics:
State Department - East Germans

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The speech was delivered by President Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, on June 12, 1987.

Related Topics:
June 12 - 1987

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Mr. Peter Robinson authored more than 300 speeches for the President of the United States during his tenure at the White House.

Related Topics:
President of the United States - White House

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Mr. Robinson graduated from Dartmouth College summa cum laude majoring in English. He continued his studies in Oxford University pursuing his second bachelors degree majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics graduating in 1981.

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After serving in the Reagan Administration for nearly five years, Mr. Robinson decided to attend Business School at Stanford University. He graduated in 1990 with an MBA and later published his best-sellers book "Snapshots from Hell:The Making of an MBA" where he writes about his experience attending Business School.

Related Topics:
Stanford University - MBA

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On May 12, 2005, Robinson was elected to the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College. He is currently working on his next book which will be about Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

Related Topics:
May 12 - 2005 - Dartmouth College - Margaret Thatcher

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Robinson also hosts the PBS program, Uncommon Knowledge.

Related Topics:
PBS - Uncommon Knowledge

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