(1943– )
a US Republican (1) politician. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999, when he resigned from the post. He is well known for his right-wing views, e.g. that Americans should pay less tax and that unemployed people should be given less money by the State. In 1995 he disagreed with President Clinton about how to spend the government’s money that year, and their disagreement led to many government departments closing temporarily because they did not have any money. In 1997 the House Ethics Committee found that Gingrich had used tax laws wrongly and lied to the committee and he was fined $300 000. Since leaving office he has opposed the Bush administration’s strategy in Iraq.