Ryan, Paul (1970-…), an American politician, served as the speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Ryan was the Republican nominee for vice president of the United States in 2012. Ryan and the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, lost to their Democratic opponents, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, in the November election. Ryan represented southeastern Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2019.
Early life and family.
Paul Davis Ryan, Jr., was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on Jan. 29, 1970. He was the youngest of four children. He was only 16 when his father, Paul Ryan, Sr., died of a heart attack. In high school, Ryan played soccer and participated in numerous extracurricular activities. He was elected student class president his junior year.
Ryan graduated from Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics. In 1991, while still a student, Ryan worked as an intern in the office of Senator Bob Kasten, a Wisconsin Republican. In 1993, Ryan went to work for Empower America, a center for conservative research based in Washington, D.C. Ryan married Janna Little, a former tax attorney and lobbyist, in 2000. The couple have three children: Elizabeth, Charles, and Samuel.
Career.
In 1997, Ryan returned to Janesville. He worked for a short time as a marketing consultant for Ryan Incorporated Central, a construction firm. The company had been started by his great-grandfather and was run by members of his extended family.
In 1998, at the age of 28, Ryan announced his candidacy for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He supported tax cuts and greater rights for gun owners. He also spoke out strongly against abortion. He won the November election by a large margin.
As a congressman, Ryan sought to reduce the size of government. He proposed measures to partially privatize (shift from government to private ownership) Social Security and Medicare. Ryan’s fellow Republicans considered him an expert on the federal budget.
Ryan became chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2011. That year, Ryan issued “The Path to Prosperity,” a budget plan that called for deep spending cuts in federal programs. The plan failed to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, but the debates helped make Ryan a national figure. Ryan also became a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
In August 2012, Mitt Romney, after becoming the Republican presidential nominee, selected Ryan to be his running mate. Romney and Ryan lost the election. Election law allowed Ryan to concurrently seek the vice presidency and reelection to the House. Ryan was reelected to his House seat. In October 2015, Ryan succeeded the retiring John Boehner as speaker of the House. Ryan did not seek reelection in 2018.
