Ron Paul

Ron Paul
Paul in 2023
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Greg Laughlin
Succeeded by	Randy Weber
Constituency	14th district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Robert Gammage
Succeeded by	Tom DeLay
Constituency	22nd district
In office April 3, 1976 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	Robert R. Casey
Succeeded by	Robert Gammage
Constituency	22nd district
Personal details
Born	Ronald Ernest Paul (1935-08-20) August 20, 1935 (age 89) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Libertarian (1987–1996, 2015–present)[1]
Other political affiliations	Republican (before 1987, 1996–2015)
Spouse	Carolyn Wells ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	5, including Rand
Education	Gettysburg College (BS) Duke University (MD)
Occupation	Politician physician author
Signature
Website	Official website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1963–1965 1965–1968
Rank	Captain[2]
Unit	Air National Guard Texas Air National Guard
Ron Paul's voice Paul gives a speech criticizing the country's interventionist foreign policy Recorded October 17, 2003

This article is part of a series about Ron Paul
Political positions Electoral history Campaign for Liberty F.R.E.E Early life and career U.S. Representative from Texas Early congressional career (1976–1985) Later congressional career (1997–2013) Presidential campaigns 1988 presidential campaign 2008 presidential campaign 2012 presidential campaign Published works A Foreign Policy of Freedom The Revolution: A Manifesto End the Fed Liberty Defined List of legislation sponsored by Ron Paul Young Americans for Liberty Draft Ron Paul movement Ron Paul newsletters
v t e

Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician, and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States: as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988; and as a candidate for the Republican Party in 2008 and 2012.

A self-described constitutionalist, Paul is a critic of several of the federal government's policies, especially the existence of the Federal Reserve and tax policy, as well as the military–industrial complex, the war on drugs, and the war on terror. He has also been a vocal critic of mass surveillance policies such as the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance programs. In 1976, Paul formed the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE), and in 1985 was named the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a Sound Economy, both free-market groups focused on limited government.^[3] He has been characterized as the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party movement, a fiscally conservative political movement started in 2007 and popularized in 2009 that is largely against most matters of interventionism.^[4][5]

Paul served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1968, and worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist from the 1960s to the 1980s.^[6] He became the first Representative in history to serve concurrently with a child in the Senate when his son, Rand Paul, became United States Senator (R-KY) in 2011.^[7] He is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Counselor of the Mises Institute,^[8] and has published a number of books and promoted the ideas of economists of the Austrian School, such as Murray Rothbard, Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises during his political campaigns. He has cited President Grover Cleveland as a preferred model of governance.^[9]

After the popularity and grassroots enthusiasm of his 2008 presidential bid, Paul announced in July 2011 that he would not seek reelection to Congress in order to focus on his 2012 bid for the presidency.^[10] Finishing in the top four with delegates in both races (while winning four states in the 2012 primaries), he refused to endorse the Republican nominations of John McCain and Mitt Romney during their respective 2008 and 2012 campaigns against Barack Obama. In May 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 had already been held.^[11] At both the 2008 and 2012 Republican National Conventions, Paul received the second-highest number of delegates behind only McCain and Romney respectively.

Paul remained active after his retirement from electoral politics, giving speeches promoting libertarian and libertarian-conservative ideas on college campuses.^[12][13] He also continues to provide political commentary through The Ron Paul Liberty Report, a web show he co-hosts on YouTube. At 81, and despite not running, Paul received one electoral vote from a Texas faithless elector in the 2016 presidential election, making him the oldest person to receive an Electoral College vote, as well as the second registered Libertarian presidential candidate in history to receive an electoral vote, after John Hospers in 1972.