Gingrich, Newt(on Leroy) (1943– )

US Republican politician, speaker of the House of Representatives 1995–98. A radical-right admirer of Reagan, he was the driving force behind his party's victory in the 1994 congressional elections, when it gained a House majority for the first time since 1954. On taking office, he sought to implement a conservative, populist manifesto – ‘Contract with America’ – designed to reduce federal powers, balance the budget, tackle crime, and limit congressional terms.

Gingrich was a professor of military history before entering Congress as House representative for Georgia in 1979. He established himself as a powerful and partisan speaker, and became House minority whip for the Republican Party in 1989. He set about attacking the leadership of the incumbent Democratic Party with charges of sleaze and corruption and, after their defeat in the 1994 mid-term elections, was elected speaker. He fulfilled his party's pledge to put all measures in its manifesto to a House floor vote within the first 100 days of the new Congress. However, many were subsequently watered down by the Republican-controlled Senate, and Gingrich's personal popularity declined 1995–96.

In 1995 Gingrich faced investigation by special committee following allegations that he had violated tax laws. He was reprimanded and fined $300,000 by the House's ethics committee in January 1997, but was nevertheless re-elected speaker. In 1998, after Republican losses in the House, he resigned his position as speaker.