Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American physician, author, and former politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 14th congressional district, which includes Galveston, from 1997 to 2013 as well as the 22nd congressional district for special term between 1976 and 1977, when he lost reelection in 1978, and for 3 later terms, from 1979 to 1985. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States: as the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988 and as a candidate in the Republican primaries in 2008 and 2012. Paul is best known for his libertarian views and is a critic of American foreign, domestic, and monetary policies, including the military–industrial complex, the War on Drugs, and the Federal Reserve. A native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Green Tree, Pennsylvania, Paul is a graduate of Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree. He served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1968. He worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist from the 1960s to the 1980s, delivering more than 4,000 babies. He became the first Representative in history to serve concurrently with a child in the Senate when his son Rand Paul was elected to the U.S. Senate from Kentucky in 2010. Paul has been an active writer on the topics of political and economic theory, as well as publicizing the ideas of Austrian economists such as Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises during his political campaigns. Paul has written many books on Austrian economics and classical liberal philosophy, beginning with The Case for Gold (1982) and including Liberty Defined (2011), End the Fed (2009), The Revolution: A Manifesto (2008), Pillars of Prosperity (2008), and A Foreign Policy of Freedom (2007). Paul often publishes under the American Ludwig von Mises Institute, an institution he keenly promoted in his campaigns. Paul has been characterized as the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party movement. On July 12, 2011, Paul announced that he would forgo seeking another term in Congress in order to focus on his presidential bid. On May 14, 2012, Paul announced that he would not be competing in any other presidential primaries but that he would still compete for delegates in states where the primary elections have already been held. At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Paul received 190 delegates. His political career now over, Paul remains active in the libertarian movement, focusing his attention on spreading ideas and visiting college campuses.
Active years end date
2013
1977
1985
Birth date
1935-08-20
Birth name
Ronald Ernest Paul
Individualised pnd number
135561736
Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
Republican Party (United States)
Region
Texas
Religion
Southern Baptist Convention
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