Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan
Reagan's presidential portrait, 1981
Official portrait, 1981
40th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJimmy Carter
Succeeded byGeorge H. W. Bush
33rd Governor of California
In office
January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975[1]
Lieutenant
Preceded byPat Brown
Succeeded byJerry Brown
9th and 13th President of the Screen Actors Guild
In office
November 16, 1959 – June 7, 1960
Preceded byHoward Keel
Succeeded byGeorge Chandler
In office
March 10, 1947 – November 10, 1952
Preceded byRobert Montgomery
Succeeded byWalter Pidgeon
Personal details
Born
Ronald Wilson Reagan

(1911-02-06)February 6, 1911
Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 5, 2004(2004-06-05) (aged 93)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeRonald Reagan Presidential Library
Political partyRepublican (from 1962)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (until 1962)
Spouses
(m. 1940; div. 1949)
(m. 1952)
Children5, including Maureen, Michael, Patti, and Ron
Parents
RelativesNeil Reagan (brother)
Alma materEureka College (BA)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • politician
  • sports broadcaster
  • union leader
AwardsFull list
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Military service
ServiceUnited States Army
Years of service
RankCaptain
Unit
WarsWorld War II
Other offices

Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈrɡən/ RAY-gən; 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, his presidency constituted the Reagan era, and he is considered one of the most prominent conservative figures in American history.

Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began to work as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California, and became a well-known film actor there. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. During the 1950s, he worked in television and spoke for General Electric. From 1959 to 1960, he again served as the Screen Actors Guild's president. In 1964, his "A Time for Choosing" speech gave Reagan attention as a new conservative figure. He was elected governor of California in 1966. During his governorship, he raised taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and cracked down harshly on university protests. After challenging and losing to incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican nomination and then a landslide victory over incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election.

In his first term, Reagan implemented "Reaganomics", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. He escalated an arms race and transitioned Cold War policy away from détente with the Soviet Union. Reagan also ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983. Additionally, he survived an assassination attempt, fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and was slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic in the United States, which began early in his presidency. In the 1984 presidential election, he defeated former vice president Walter Mondale in another landslide victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, the Iran–Iraq War, 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 that culminated 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 United States 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 helped contribute to the end of the Cold War and the end of Soviet communism.[7] Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities rapidly deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death in 2004. Historians and scholars have typically ranked him among the middle to upper tier of American presidents, and his post-presidential approval ratings by the general public are usually high.[8]

  1. ^ Holmes 2020, p. 210.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Ronald Reagan". Encyclopædia Britannica. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "Retrospective Approval of Presidents". Gallup, Inc. July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.