Newt Gingrich (born June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 58th U.S. House Speaker from 1995 to 1999. After the 1994 mid-term elections, he became the first Republican Speaker of the House in 40 years. He represented Georgia's 6th congressional district as a Republican from 1979 until his resignation in 1999.

Through his well-publicized "Contract with America", he was able to have the House pass many of the legislative items and many of them became law. His term as Speaker was marked by his opposition to many of Clinton's policies, which led to a budget showdown, government shutdowns, and acrimonious impeachment proceedings. However, Gingrich and Clinton also reached agreements on welfare reform, a capital gains tax cut, and a budget deal that led to four straight balanced budgets.

Gingrich authored several books, and stayed involved in politics, serving as a political commentator and a consultant for various think tanks. In May 2011 Gingrich announced he would seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

Newt Gingrich won South Carolina's Republican presidential primary on January 21 2012 by winning 40% of the votes, beating Mitt Romney with 27%, and Rick Santorum with 18%.