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Newt Gingrich
58th Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives
Assumed Office: January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Born:
June 17,
1943
(age 63)
Political Party: Republican
Religion: Southern Baptist
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Newt Gingrich is well-known as the
architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to
victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House for the first
time in forty years. After he was elected Speaker, he disrupted the status
quo by moving power out of Washington and back to the American people. Under
his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, passed the first balanced
budget in a generation, and passed the first tax cut in sixteen years. In
addition, the Congress restored funding to strengthen our defense and
intelligence capabilities, an action later lauded by the bipartisan 9/11
Commission.
But there is a lot more to Newt Gingrich than these remarkable achievements.
As an author, Newt has published nine books including the best sellers,
Contract with America and To Renew America and his most recent book, Winning
the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America. In June 2005, Never Call
Retreat concluded Newt's series of active history studies in the lessons of
warfare based on a fictional account of the Battle of Gettysburg and its
aftermath. And in Saving Lives & Saving Money, Newt demonstrates how to
transform health and healthcare into a 21st century system.
In his post-Speaker role, Newt has become one of the most highly
sought-after public speakers, accepting invitations to speak before some of
the most prestigious organizations in the world. Because of his own
unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newt is able to share unique and
unparalleled insights on a wide range of topics. His audiences find him to
be not only an educational but also an inspirational speaker.
Widely recognized for his commitment to a better system of health for all
Americans, his leadership helped save Medicare from bankruptcy, prompted FDA
reform to help the seriously ill and initiated a new focus on research,
prevention, and wellness. His contributions have been so great that the
American Diabetes Association awarded him their highest non-medical award
and the March of Dimes named him their 1995 Citizen of the Year. Today he
serves as a Board Member of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
In his book, Saving Lives and Saving Money, Newt describes his vision of a
21st Century System of Health and Healthcare that is centered on the
individual, prevention focused, knowledge intense, and innovation rich.
Moreover, he makes the case for a market-mediated system that will improve
choice and quality while driving down costs. To foster such a modern health
system that provides better outcomes at lower cost, Newt launched the Center
for Health Transformation (www.healthtransformation.net).
Newt also serves with former Senator Bob Kerrey as Co-chairman of the
National Commission for Quality Long-term Care. The commission will make
recommendations to policymakers and the public on how to transform
healthcare services for the frail elderly and disabled in order to maximize
independence and achieve a high quality of life and quality of care for our
aging population.
Recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues,
and international affairs, Newt serves as a Member of the Defense Policy
Board. Newt is the longest-serving teacher of the Joint War Fighting course
for Major Generals. He also teaches officers from all five services as a
Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Professor at the National Defense
University . Newt serves on the Terrorism Task Force for the Council on
Foreign Relations. He is an Editorial Board Member of the Johns Hopkins
University journal, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, and is an Advisory Board
Member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Recently, Newt was
named co-Chair of the UN Task Force, a bi-partisan Congressional effort to
reform the United Nations.
In 1999, Gingrich was appointed to the United States Commission on National
Security/21st Century, the Hart/Rudman Commission to examine our national
security challenges as far out as 2025. The Commission's report is the most
profound rethinking of defense strategy since 1947. The report concluded
that the number one threat to the United States was the likelihood over the
next 25 years of a weapon of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical, and/or
biological being used against one or more major cities unless our defense
and intelligence structures underwent a massive transformation. That report
was published six months before September 11.
Because of his work on the Commission, Newt Gingrich is credited with the
idea contained in the report of a Homeland Security Agency with a Secretary
to serve on the Cabinet level. President George W. Bush has since created
the Department of Homeland Security.
Newt Gingrich is Chairman of the Gingrich Group, a communications and
consulting firm that specializes in transformational change, with offices in
Atlanta and Washington, DC . He serves as a Senior Fellow at the American
Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at
the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and
is an Honorary Chairman of the NanoBusiness Alliance. Newt is also a news
and political analyst for the Fox News Channel.
Newt Gingrich is a leading advocate of increased Federal funding for basic
science research. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Science Coalition's
first Science Pioneer award, given to him for his outstanding contributions
to educating the public about science and its benefits to society.
A strong advocate of volunteerism, Gingrich has long championed the positive
impact every individual can have on society. He has raised millions of
dollars for charity, donating both time and money to a wide array of causes,
including Habitat for Humanity, United Cerebral Palsy, the American Cancer
Society, and ZooAtlanta. A former environmental studies professor, he is
widely recognized for his commitment to the environment and to the
advancement of a new, common-sense environmentalism. In 1998, the Georgia
Wildlife Federation named him Legislative Conservationist of the Year.
Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista GingrichNewt was first elected to
Congress in 1978 where he served the Sixth District of Georgia for twenty
years. In 1995, he was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
where he served until 1999. The Washington Times has called him “the
indispensable leader” and Time magazine, in naming him Man of the Year for
1995, said, “Leaders make things possible. Exceptional leaders make them
inevitable. Newt Gingrich belongs in the category of the exceptional.”
His experiences as the son of a career soldier convinced him at an early age
to dedicate his life to his country and to the protection of freedom.
Realizing the importance of understanding the past in order to protect the
future, he immersed himself in the study of history, receiving his
Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and Master’s and Doctorate in Modern
European History from Tulane University . Before his election to Congress,
he taught History and Environmental Studies at West Georgia College for
eight years.
He resides in Virginia with his wife, Callista. The Gingrich family includes
two daughters, two sons-in-law and two grandchildren. |
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