Ronald Reagan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1981 | |
| 40th President of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 | |
| Vice President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Carter |
| Succeeded by | George H. W. Bush |
| 33rd Governor of California | |
| In office January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975[1] | |
| Lieutenant | |
| Preceded by | Pat Brown |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Brown |
| President of the Screen Actors Guild | |
| In office November 16, 1959 – June 7, 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Keel |
| Succeeded by | George Chandler |
| In office March 10, 1947 – November 10, 1952 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Montgomery |
| Succeeded by | Walter Pidgeon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Wilson Reagan February 6, 1911 Tampico, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 2004 (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ronald Reagan Presidential Library |
| Political party | Republican (from 1962) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 1962) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5, including Maureen, Michael, Patti, and Ron |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Neil Reagan (brother) |
| Education | Eureka College (BA) |
| Occupation |
|
| Awards | Full list |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Service | |
| Years of service | |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | |
| Wars | World War II |
Other offices
| |
Ronald Wilson Reagan[a] (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an important figure in the American conservative movement, and his presidency is known as the Reagan era.
Born and raised in Illinois, Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and was hired the next year as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California where he became a well-known film actor. During his acting career, Reagan was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild twice, serving from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In the 1950s, he became the host for General Electric Theater and also worked as a motivational speaker for General Electric. Subsequently, Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech during the 1964 U.S. presidential election launched his rise as a leading conservative figure. After being elected governor of California in 1966, he raised the state taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus and implemented harsh crackdowns on university protests. Following his loss to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican Party's nomination and then a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election.
In his first term as U.S. president, Reagan began implementing "Reaganomics", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. On the world stage, he escalated the arms race, transitioned Cold War policy away from the policies of détente with the Soviet Union, and ordered the 1983 invasion of Grenada. Within the same period, Reagan also survived an assassination attempt, fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and was slow to respond to the growing AIDS epidemic. In the 1984 presidential election, he defeated Carter's former vice president, Walter Mondale, in another landslide victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, the secret and illegal sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras, and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev culminating in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the U.S. having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At the same time, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Reagan's policies also contributed to the end of the Cold War and the end of Soviet communism.[8] Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities gradually deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death in 2004. Historical rankings of U.S. presidents have typically placed Reagan in the upper tier, and his post-presidential approval ratings by the general public are usually high.[9]
- ^ Holmes 2020, p. 210.
- ^ Oliver, Myrna (October 11, 1995). "Robert H. Finch, Lt. Gov. Under Reagan, Dies : Politics: Leader in California GOP was 70. He also served in Nixon's Cabinet and as President's special counselor and campaign manager". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ Chang, Cindy (December 25, 2016). "Ed Reinecke, who resigned as California's lieutenant governor after a perjury conviction, dies at 92". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ South, Garry (May 21, 2018). "California's lieutenant governors rarely move up to the top job". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ The Chairman's Report – 1968: To the Members of the Republican National Committee Jan. 16–17, 1969. Republican National Committee. January 1969. p. 41. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ Synergy, Volumes 13–30. Bay Area Reference Center. 1969. p. 41. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania was elected on December 13 to succeed Governor Ronald Reagan as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
- ^ Brands 2015, p. 261.
- ^ "Ronald Reagan". Encyclopædia Britannica. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- ^ "Retrospective Approval of Presidents". Gallup, Inc. July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
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