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Newt GingrichAmerican politician
Date of Birth: 17.06.1943
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career and Early Political Aspirations
- Congressional Career
- Post-Congressional Career
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Newton Leroy McPherson was born on June 17, 1943, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His parents were teenage high school students who married in 1942. His mother, Kathleen Daugherty, raised him alone until her second marriage to Robert Gingrich, who adopted Newton.
Gingrich spent his childhood on military bases, attending various schools. In 1961, he graduated from high school in Columbus, Georgia, and enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1965, a master's degree in 1968, and a Ph.D. in modern European history in 1971.
Academic Career and Early Political Aspirations
After completing his doctorate, Gingrich taught history at the University of West Georgia from 1970 to 1978. He briefly returned to teaching in 1993, lecturing on American civilization at Kennesaw State University.
In 1974 and 1976, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Georgia's 6th district, losing to incumbent Democratic Congressman Jack Flynt.
Congressional Career
In 1978, Flynt decided not to seek re-election, and Gingrich seized the opportunity to defeat his rival, State Senator Virginia Shapard. He became a popular figure among his constituents, winning 10 consecutive re-elections.
Gingrich served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1999. He became the 58th Speaker of the House in 1995.
During his tenure as Speaker, Gingrich led the Republican opposition to President Bill Clinton. He was instrumental in drafting the "Contract with America," a set of reforms and legislative proposals that Republicans promised to enact if they gained control of Congress.
Post-Congressional Career
After the 1998 elections, in which Republicans lost five seats in the House, Gingrich announced that he would step down as Speaker and retire from Congress.
Since his retirement, Gingrich has been a prolific author and political commentator. He continues to write on politics and governance, along with historical fiction. He is a vocal critic of Barack Obama's administration.
Personal Life
Gingrich has been married three times. His first marriage in 1962 was to Jackie Battley, who was his high school geometry teacher. They had two daughters. The couple divorced in 1980, after Gingrich fell in love with Marianne Ginther, whom he married in 1981.
In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with Callista Bisek, who was 23 years his junior. They married in 2000, after his divorce from Marianne was finalized. Under the influence of his third wife, Gingrich converted from his lifelong Baptist faith to Catholicism.
