Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He has been a presidential candidate repeatedly. His 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed, which criticized the automotive industry for its safety record, helped lead to the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966.

The son of Lebanese immigrants to the United States, Nader attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He quickly developed an interest in vehicle designs that were hazardous and contributed to elevated levels of car accidents and fatalities. Published in 1965, Unsafe at Any Speed became a highly influential critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers, focusing on General Motors' Chevrolet Corvair automobile in particular.

Following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader led a group of volunteer law students—dubbed "Nader's Raiders"—in an investigation of the Federal Trade Commission, leading directly to that agency's overhaul and reform. In the 1970s, Nader leveraged his growing popularity to establish a number of advocacy and watchdog groups including the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Auto Safety, and Public Citizen. Two of Nader's most notable targets were the Chevy Corvair and the Ford Pinto.

Nader made four bids to become President of the United States, running with the Green Party in 1996 and 2000 and as an independent in 2004 and 2008. In each campaign, Nader said he sought to highlight under-reported issues and a perceived need for electoral reform. He won nearly three million votes in the 2000 United States presidential election, and for that reason there were allegations that his candidacy that year helped Republican candidate George W. Bush win a close election against Democratic candidate Al Gore.

A two-time Nieman Fellow, Nader is the author or co-author of more than two dozen books and was the subject of a documentary film on his life and work, An Unreasonable Man, which debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. He has been repeatedly named to lists of the "100 Most Influential Americans", including those published by the magazines Life, Time, and The Atlantic. He was described by The New York Times as a "dissident".