Ronald Reagan

The Honorable Ronald Reagan GCB
Official portrait, 1981
40th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
Vice President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Jimmy Carter
Succeeded by	George H. W. Bush
33rd Governor of California
In office January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975
Lieutenant	Robert Finch Edwin Reinecke John L. Harmer
Preceded by	Pat Brown
Succeeded by	Jerry Brown
9th and 13th President of the Screen Actors Guild
In office November 16, 1959 – June 12, 1960
Preceded by	Howard Keel
Succeeded by	George Chandler
In office November 17, 1947 – November 9, 1952
Preceded by	Robert Montgomery
Succeeded by	Walter Pidgeon
Personal details
Born	Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-02-06)February 6, 1911 Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 5, 2004(2004-06-05) (aged 93) Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Pneumonia caused by Alzheimer's disease
Resting place	Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center
Political party	Republican
Other political affiliations	Democratic (before 1962)
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Spouse(s)	Jane Wyman (m. 1940; div. 1949) Nancy Reagan (m. 1952)
Relations	Neil Reagan (brother)
Children	Maureen Christine Michael Patti Ron
Parents	Jack Reagan Nelle Wilson Reagan
Alma mater	Eureka College (BA)
Profession	Actor politician sports commentator union leader
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom Congressional Gold Medal Golden Globe Award See more
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service	1937–1945
Rank	Captain
Unit	18th AAF Base Unit
Reagan's Voice Speech at the Brandenburg Gate Recorded June 12, 1987

Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/ RAY-gən; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor. He was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Before becoming president, he was the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975. He was also the 9th and 13th president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1959 until 1960.

Reagan got a degree from Eureka College in 1932 and became a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, Reagan moved to California, where he became a film actor. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan was the president of the Screen Actors Guild. In the 1950s, he worked in television and spoke for General Electric. From 1959 to 1960, he again was the Screen Actors Guild's president. In 1964, "A Time for Choosing" gave Reagan attention as a new conservative figure. He was elected governor of California in 1966. During his time as governor, he raised taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and ended student protests in Berkeley. After running against and losing to president Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican nomination and then a landslide victory over incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 United States presidential election.

In his first term, Reagan created "Reaganomics", which included economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. He grew an arms race and moved Cold War policy away from détente with the Soviet Union. He also survived an assassination attempt, had a feud with public sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983. In the 1984 presidential election, Reagan was re-elected over former vice president Walter Mondale in another landslide victory. Foreign policy took over Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, the Iran–Iraq War, the secret sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras, and a more calm approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that led to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen far less inflation, less unemployment, and the United States having entered its then-longest period of economic growth. At the same time, the federal debt had nearly increased three times since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Alzheimer's disease made Reagan's post-presidency difficult and his physical and mental capacities quickly got worse, which led to his death in 2004. His presidency is a part of the Reagan era, and he is considered an important conservative figure in the United States. Historians and scholars have ranked Reagan among the upper tier of American presidents, although he tends to be disliked in left-wing politics because of his domestic policies.