Early Life

Newt Gingrich on June 17, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Newton Searles McPherson and Kathleen Daugherty. The couple split, and Newt was adopted by his mother's second husband, Robert Gingrich. At age 19, Gingrich married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher. He received a B.A. degree from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965, an MA in 1968 and PhD in 1971 in Modern European History from Tulane University in New Orleans. From 1970-1978, Gingrich taught history at University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia. Gingrich and Battley divorced in 1977 after having two children. The divorce was initiated after Gingrich was alleged to have had an affair with another woman. In 1981, Gingrich married Marianne Ginther.

In the House

Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Georgia's sixth congressional district in 1974 and 1976 but lost both times to the conservative Democratic incumbent. In his third attempt, he defeated his Democratic opponent whose support for the Equal Rights Amendment cost her the election in a socially conservative district. Gingrich was subsequently elected six times from this district.

Gingrich co-founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus as well as the Congressional Space Caucus in 1981. In 1983 he founded the Conservative Opportunity Society. In 1983, Gingrich called for the expulsion of congressman Dan Crane and Gerry Studds for their roles in a sex scandal involving a Congressional Page. In 1988, he pressed ethics charges against Jim Wright, the Democratic speaker. Wright was accused to have used a book deal to circumvent campaign-finance laws. In 1997, Gingrich himself encountered similar trouble over a book deal that earned him an reprimand of 84 ethics charges and a fine of $300,000. Special Counsel James M. Cole concluded that Gingrich violated federal tax law and had lied to the ethics panel in an effort to force the committee to dismiss the complaint against him.

His success in forcing out Wright set him on course for orchestrating the Republican party’s victory in the 1994 elections that gave the party control of Congress after 40 years. Gingrich questioned the ethical practices of the Democratic party, using Write, The House banking scandal and Congressional Post Office Scandal as central issues to garner support for the Republican takeover. Gingrich's leadership has also been credited for the 1994 Republican victory, with the passage of a number of policies, including a balanced budget, welfare reform, term limits, tougher crime laws, and restrictions on military participation in the United Nations. As the ranking Republican in Congress, Gingrich was named Speaker.

In late 1995, Speaker Gingrich and the new Republican majority insisted on deep spending cuts in the federal budget. This proposal was rejected by President Clinton and the Republicans failed to get enough votes to override the presidential veto. Under Gingrich's leadership, a revised budget was not submitted before the previous budget expired, which resulted in the shutdown of some governmental services for lack of funding.

By 1997, Gingrich's public image was quickly deteriorating and House Republicans had come to see him a liability. That year there was an unsuccessful attempt to replace him as Speaker by some Republicans in the House. Gingrich's preoccupation with bringing perjury charges against Clinton as a way to make gains in the 1998 midterm elections resulted in the loss five seats in the House. This turned out to be the worst performance for a party that didn't hold the presidency in 64 years. Amid plans for another coup against the Speaker, Gingrich announced his resignation from the House on November 6.

Post Congressional Life

Throughout the Clinton proceedings, Gingrich had had an affair with Congressional staffer, Callista Bisek. In 1999, Gingrich divorced his second wife and two were married in 2000.

Since Gingrich's ejection from the House, he has remained involved in national politics and public policy debate. He is a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute. He frequently appears on Fox News Channel as a commentator, guest, panel member on television news shows, or as a host program specials. Gingrich has written several books. In 2005, he published a book called Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract, in which he outlines his ideas for what should be done in America. Rediscovering God in America was released in 2006. Gingrich has also co-authored an alternate history trilogy of the American Civil War and a series about Pearl Harbor. In March 2006, Gingrich began a regular series of daily radio commentaries, also titled "Winning the Future" which are modeled after Ronald Reagan's radio addresses in the mid-1970s.

Gingrich has not officially announced his candidacy but he made a number of public appearances in Iowa, New Hampshire, and on television shows indicating his intention to run. He has said he will not make a decision until October 2007 to see if anyone can win over the Republican voters.