Paul Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is the U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district since 1999 and the chairman of the House Budget Committee since Republicans took control of the House in 2010. Known for his keen fiscal knowledge on the economy and proposed changes to Medicare, Ryan has been considered a rising star in the Republican Party for years. On August 11, 2012, He was picked by Mitt Romney to become the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2012 election.

Born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan earned a B.A. degree in economics and political science from Miami University in Ohio. He first got into politics in the mid 1990s by working as an aide to United States Senator Bob Kasten of Wisconsin. He went on to become the legislative director for Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, and a speechwriter for former U.S. Representative and 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp of New York. In 1998, Ryan won election to the United States House of Representatives, succeeding the two-term incumbent, fellow Republican Mark Neumann.