Axially chiral N,N′‐dioxide Lewis base promoters have been developed and have for the first time been applied to the asymmetric synthesis of α‐amino nitriles through cyanide addition to aldimines. The chiral 3,3′‐dimethyl‐2,2′‐biquinoline N,N′‐dioxide 2 exhibited high enantioselectivity for asymmetric Strecker reactions between N‐benzhydrylimines and trimethylsilyl cyanide. In the presence of 1 equiv. of chiral promoter 2, the cyanosilylation of aldimines afforded the corresponding α‐amino nitriles with ee values of up to 95%. Optically pure products (99% ee) were obtained simply by recrystallization in the cases of some of the products. Moreover, the promoter 2 could be recovered and reused at least four times without any loss of enantioselectivity and reactivity. A putative mechanism for the enantioselective Strecker reactions is also discussed. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003)