Newt Gingrich

Newton Leroy Gingrich (né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district serving north Atlanta and nearby areas from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

In the 1970s, Gingrich was a professor of history and geography at West Georgia College (what is now the University of West Georgia). He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1978, the first Republican in the history of Georgia's 6th congressional district to do so. He served as House minority whip from 1989 to 1995. A co-author and architect of the "Contract with America", Gingrich was a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional election. In 1995, Time named him "Man of the Year" for "his role in ending the four-decades-long Democratic majority in the House".

As House Speaker, Gingrich oversaw passage by the House of welfare reform in 1996 and a capital gains tax cut in 1997. Gingrich played a key role in multiple government shutdowns, and impeached President Bill Clinton on a party-line vote in the House. A disappointing showing by Republicans in the 1998 congressional elections, a reprimand from the House for Gingrich's ethics violation, and pressure from Republican colleagues resulted in Gingrich announcing that he would not run for the speakership in the upcoming Congress, and he resigned from the House on January 3, 1999, the same day his term as speaker ended.