People named Richard

Rulers and heads of state

• Richard, Duke of Burgundy (died 921)
• Richard I, Duke of Normandy (933-996)
• Richard II, Duke of Normandy (died 1026), son of Richard I of Normandy
• Richard I of Capua (died 1078), King of Capua and Count of Aversa
• Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199)
• Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1209–1272), elected King of Germany
• Richard II of England (1367–1400)
• Richard III of England (1452–1485)
• Richard Cromwell (1626–1712), son of Oliver Cromwell, and his successor as Lord Protector of England (1658-1659)
• Richard Nixon (1913–1994), American politician, President of the United States (1969-1974) and Vice President (1953-1961)
• Richard von Weizsäcker (1920-2015), German politician, Governing Mayor of West Berlin (1981-1984) and President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1984-1994)

In politics and government

• Richard Acland (1906–1990), one of the founders of the British Common Wealth Party and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
• Richard Keith "Dick" Armey (born 1940), American politician, member U.S. House of Representatives from Texas (1985-2003)
• Richard Armitage (born 1945), American government official, Deputy Secretary of State (2001-2005)
• Richard Bedford "R.B." Bennett (1870-1947), Canadian politician, Prime Minister of Canada (1930-1935).
• Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington (1612–1698), Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a cavalier.
• Richard "Dick" Cheney (born 1941), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming (1979-1989), Secretary of Defense (1989-1993) and Vice President (2001-2009)
• Richard C. "Dick" Clark (born 1928), American politician, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1973-1979)
• Richard Court (born 1947), Australian politician, Premier of Western Australia (1993-2001)
• Richard J. Daley (1902–1976), American politician, Mayor of Chicago (1955-1976)
• Richard M. Daley (born 1942), American politician, Illinois state senator (1972-1980) and Mayor of Chicago (1989-2011)
• Richard Darman (1943-2008), American businessman and government official, White House Staff Secretary (1981-1985), Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1985-1987) and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1989-1993)
• Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple (1711–1779), British politician and associate and brother-in-law of William Pitt
• Richard Hatfield (1931–1991), Canadian politician, Premier of New Brunswick (1970-1987)
• Richard McGarrah Helms (1913-2002), American government official, Director of Central Intelligence (1966-1973), U.S. Ambasador to Iran (1973-1977)
• Richard Johnson (judge) (born 1937), Irish jurist, President of the Irish High Court (2006-2009)
• Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (1641–1712), Irish peer, and politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland
• Richard Mentor Johnson (1780–1850), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky (1807-1819 and 1829-1833), U.S. Senator from Kentucky (1819-1829) and Vice President (1837-1841)
• Richard "Dick" Lugar (born 1932), American politician, U.S. Senator from Indiana (1977-2011)
• Richard Perle (born 1941), American government official and foreign policy specialist, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs 1981-1987
• Richard Rush (1780–1859), American politician, U.S. Attorney General (1814-1817) and Secretary of the Treasury (1825-1829)
• Richard Seddon (1845-1906), New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1893-1906)
• Richard Stockton (1764–1828), American politician, U.S. Senator from New Jersey (1796-1799), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1813-1815)
• Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh (born 1932), American politician, Governor of Pennsylvania (1979-1987) and U.S. Attorney General (1988-1991)
• Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley (1760–1842), Anglo-Irish Governor-General of India, Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, brother of the 1st Duke of Wellington
• Richard Wild (1912-1978), New Zealand jurist, Chief Justice of New Zealand (1966-1978)