Alleghany Corporation Announces Retirement of F.M. Kirby as Chairman of the Board of Directors; John J. Burns, Jr. to be New Chairman.

NEW YORK -- Alleghany Corporation (NYSE: Y) announced today that F.M. Kirby, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alleghany, has elected to retire as a director and Chairman effective at the end of 2006. John J. Burns, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Board, will succeed Mr. Kirby as Chairman of the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2007.

Mr. Kirby, 87 years old, has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alleghany for forty years. In addition, Mr. Kirby was President and chief executive officer of Alleghany for twenty-five years, from 1967 until July 1992. Mr. Burns, 75 years old, joined Alleghany in 1968 as a director and Vice President-Finance, was appointed President and chief operating officer in 1977 and chief executive officer in 1992. Upon his retirement as President and chief executive officer in December 2004, Mr. Burns continued to serve as a director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alleghany.

Alleghany is engaged through its subsidiary Alleghany Insurance Holdings LLC (consisting of RSUI Group, Inc., AIHL Re LLC, Capitol Transamerica Corporation and Darwin Professional Underwriters, Inc.) in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses.