Ronald Wilson Reagan. Born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois - died June 5, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. 40th President of the United States (1981-1989). 33rd Governor of California (1967-1975). Also known as an actor and radio host.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in an apartment above a local bank in the village of Tampico, Illinois.

Father - John Edward "Jack" Reagan, mother - Nellie Wilson Reagan. The father was of Irish-Catholic descent, and the mother was of English and Scottish ancestry. Ronald also had an older brother, Neil "Luna" Reagan (1908-1996), who became an advertising executive. Upon seeing his newborn son, Jack Reagan remarked: “He looks like a little fat Dutchman, but who knows, he might grow up and become president one day.”.

The Reagan family spent time moving to various cities in Illinois, including Monmouth, Galesburg and Chicago. They eventually returned to Tampico in 1919 and lived above Pitney's General Store. After becoming president and moving into the White House, Reagan joked that he was again living above the store. After the Pitney Store closed in 1920, the Reagans moved to Dixon, Illinois, and the Midwestern "little universe" left a strong impression on Ronald.

He attended Dixon High School, where he developed an interest in acting, sports, and developed his storytelling skills. Frequent moves from place to place forced Ronald to change schools, and each time, as a newcomer, he had to overcome the wary mistrust of his classmates.

Things only started to improve in 1924, after Ronald's successful play on the Dixon football team. However, he achieved his greatest recognition while working his first job as a lifeguard in Lowell Park on the Rock River. Over 7 seasons, starting in 1926, he saved 77 drowning people, something Reagan was proud of all his life.

In 1928, he graduated from Dixon High School and entered Eureka College (Eureka (Illinois)) to study economics and sociology. True, there, as at school, he did not shine at all in the sciences. When students asked him years later what was the benefit of being president, he replied, “I could have ordered the FBI to keep my high school grades highly classified.” At the same time, he tried to actively participate in public life, was a member of the student fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon (Tau Kappa Epsilon) and eventually even led the organization of student government. In this post, he led a student revolt against the college president, who was planning to cut the faculty. He was also active in sports, including American football. He later remarked: "I didn't play baseball because I had vision problems. So I started playing football. There's a ball and bigger guys.".

Paul Kengor, author of God and Ronald Reagan, writes that Reagan was highly religious and believed in the divine origin of man, a belief that came from his mother Nellie and the Disciples of Christ Protestant church, of which he was a member. became in 1922. Perhaps this influenced the formation of views on interracial relations that were very unusual for that time. There is a famous case in Dixon when Reagan brought black people to the house, and his mother invited them to stay for the night and fed the guests breakfast the next morning.

Ronald began his artistic career as a radio host. After graduating from college in 1932, Reagan moved to Iowa, where he worked at many small radio stations.

The University of Iowa hired Reagan to cover the Iowa Yankees football team. For each session he received $10. Ron later said that his time as a sports commentator was the best time of his life. He later took a position as an announcer at radio station WOC in the town of Davenport, Iowa, where he already received $100 a month. Thanks to his voice, he was invited to the WHO radio station in Des Moines, where he commented live on the matches of the Chicago Cubs baseball team while in the stadium.

After traveling with the Cubs through California, Reagan screen-tested in 1937 and signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. Studios. His first role was in the film Love Live (1937). In 1938 he joined the Film Guild trade union. By the end of 1939, he had appeared in 19 films, including Conquer the Dark (1940). Before filming the famous film “The Road to Santa Fe,” he played the famous football player George the Gipper in the biographical film "Newt Rockne is a true American". Since then the nickname "Gipper" stuck with Ronald for a long time.

Reagan's most notable role was played in the 1942 film "King's Row". The film was nominated for an Oscar, but Ronald’s performance did not meet with universal approval (one of the reviewers even wrote that the actor “frivolously got acquainted with the character of his hero.” Although many film critics note that it was best movie Reagan, New York Times reporter Bosley Crowther, one of the most respected film critics, also condemned the film.

Ronald himself noted that Kings Row made him a star. However, it was not possible to develop the success further, since two months after the release of the film, the future president was drafted into the army and never again achieved such film success.

After returning from service, Reagan starred in the films: “This Army (1943), “Bonzo, Time to Bed!” (1951), The Tennessee Associate (1952), Law & Order (1953), The Sea Witches (1957), The Montana Cattle Queen (1954) and in the remake of the 1946 film The Killers (1964) .

Throughout his film career, Reagan starred in 54 feature films. In most cases, these were low-budget B-movies aimed at small audiences. They didn't get many good reviews and wide fame. He later joked: "The producers weren't trying to make these films good; they were trying to make them by Thursday.".

On April 29, 1937, after completing 14 correspondence military courses, Reagan was commissioned into the United States Army Reserve as a Private B-Class in the 322nd Cavalry Regiment in Des Moines, Iowa. On May 25, 1937, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the Cavalry Officer Reserve Corps. On June 18, he was assigned to the 323rd Cavalry Regiment. His service number was: 0 357 403.

On April 18, 1942, he received an order to be sent to the front, but the medical board classified him as only partially fit due to myopia, which precluded service abroad. His first assignment was as a liaison officer at the loading port of San Francisco (Fort Mason, California), where he liaised between the port and transportation departments.

After receiving approval from the Air Force, he transferred to the Air Force on May 15, 1942, from the cavalry and was assigned to public relations. He was subsequently transferred to the First Motion Picture Unit (official name: 18th AAF Base Unit) in Culver City (California).

On January 14, 1943, Reagan was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in Burbank. After serving there, he returned back to the First Film Production Department. On July 22, 1943, Reagan was promoted to the rank of captain.

In January 1944, Captain Reagan was sent on temporary duty to New York City, where he was to take part in the opening of the Sixth War Loan Drive. (Borrowing funds from wealthy people to finance the war).

On November 14, 1944, he was again sent to the 18th Air Force Base, where he served until the end of the war. On February 2, 1945, his candidacy was recommended for the rank of major, but this recommendation was rejected on July 17 of the same year. He returned to Fort MacArthur in California, where he ended his service on December 9, 1945. By the end of World War II, his unit had produced 400 training films for the US Air Force.

In 1947, a conflict of interests and rules occurred in the organization, which led to the resignation of 6 members of the board of directors and the president of the guild. Reagan was nominated as the GCA presidential candidate in early elections and he won the elections. He was later elected president for five consecutive years, from 1947 to 1952, and was elected for the sixth time after a break in 1959. During this time, Reagan led the guild through difficult years that were marked by labor disputes: the Taft-Hartley Act, the HUAC hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era.

In the early 1940s, Reagan cooperated with the FBI, providing them with the names of those in the film industry whom he suspected of being communist sympathizers.

Also in 1947, as president of the guild, Reagan testified before HUAC regarding Communist influence on the film industry. Reagan was convinced that the Communists were trying to take over the film industry. An ardent anti-communist, he reaffirmed his commitment to the principles of democracy, declaring:.

“I, as a citizen, never wanted to see our country forced to weaken any of our democratic principles as a result of fear or resentment associated with this group.”

In the late 1950s, Reagan appeared in several small film roles and decided to join the media. He was invited to host the highly popular weekly drama series General Electric Theater. His contract required him to tour General Electric plants for ten weeks a year, often giving him 14 speeches a day. He received approximately $125 thousand per year (in 2008 this would have meant $1 million). His last work as a professional actor was as host and performer on the television series Death Valley Days from 1964 to 1965. In 1938, Reagan starred in the film Brother Rat with actress

Jane Wyman

(1917-2007). The engagement took place at the Chicago Theater and they were married on January 26, 1940 at Wee Kirk o" the Heather Church in Glendale (California). They had two children: Maureen (1941-2001) and Christina (born and died in 1947 year), adopted a third, Michael (born March 18, 1945). Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman.

In 1949, an actress (born in 1921) approached Reagan as the president of the guild; she asked to remove her name from the Hollywood blacklist (she was added there by mistake, confused with another Nancy Davis).

Nancy described their meeting with the words: “I don’t know if it was love at first sight, but it was a pleasant rapprochement.”. Their engagement took place at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles, and they were married on March 4, 1952 at Little Brown Church in the San Fernando Valley. The best man at the wedding was actor William Holden.

They had two children: Patricia (Patie) (born October 22, 1952) and Ron (born May 20, 1958).

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis

Reviewers described their relationship as truly close and intimate.

When Reagan became president and she became first lady, they often demonstrated their love for each other. As the presidential press secretary noted: “Their relationship never became routine. They never stopped showing each other signs of attention.”.

Ronald called his wife Mommy, she called him Ronnie. He once wrote about her:“She is what I value and enjoy... For me, everything would be indifferent without her”

. When the president was hospitalized as a result of an assassination attempt in 1981, Nancy slept in his shirt because she was soothed by her husband's scent. In a letter to the American people (1994), Reagan wrote:.

“I recently learned that I have become one of the millions of Americans affected by Alzheimer's disease... My only wish is that Nancy would not share this fate.” In 1998, Nancy told Vanity Fair:.

“Our relationship is special. We still love each other very much. When I say that my life began with Ronnie, it's true. And so it was. I can't imagine my life without him." Reagan was an enrolled member Democratic Party

While at General Electric, Reagan toured the company's factories across the country and gave speeches to employees. Often his speeches were colored in a political tone, from the standpoint of conservatism, they reflected the idea of ​​​​supporting business. Reagan wrote his speeches himself, working on them every day. (Later, during his presidency, he had his own speechwriters, but Reagan edited the speeches they wrote, and when he had time, he wrote his own speeches). However, his speeches increasingly diverged from the official course of the company, and in 1962 Reagan was fired from General Electric.

Reagan opposed some civil rights, although he later changed his position, voting for rights and fair housing. However, he vigorously denied racist motives.

After the introduction of health insurance legislation in 1961, Reagan wrote an address to the American Medical Association, warning that the introduction of such legislation could mean the end of freedom in America. Reagan said that if listeners did not write their letters to prevent such a development of events, then “We may [one day] wake up in socialism. If you don’t do this and I don’t do this, one of these days, remembering the past bright years and telling our children and our children’s children that there once was an America in which people were free.”.

In 1964, two years after switching parties, Reagan joined the presidential campaign of conservative candidate Barry Goldwater. Speaking in support of Goldwater, he emphasized his belief in reducing government regulation.

In his famous October 27, 1964 speech at the party convention, Reagan revealed his own ideological views: “The Founding Fathers knew that government cannot control the economy without controlling the people. They knew that if the government wants to achieve something, it must use force and coercion to achieve its goal. The time has come - time to choose". This speech became known as “A Time to Choose,” and helped raise $1 million for Goldwater’s campaign. It is generally accepted that the speech marked the start of Reagan's political career.

California Republicans were impressed by Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time to Choose" speech and nominated him for governor of California in 1966. In his election campaign, Reagan emphasized two main themes: “Forcing idle people on social programs to return to work” and “Cleanse Berkeley from the turmoil.”

He won the election, defeating Gov. Edmund Pat Brown, who was seeking a third term.

On January 3, 1967, at 9 minutes after midnight, he took the oath of office. In 1988, Reagan explained that he chose this timing because his predecessor Edmund Brown "had to fill out appointment slates and judicial slates" in his final days as governor. Professor Marcello Truzzi, a sociologist at Eastern Michigan University who studied Reagan's interest in astronomy, commented on Reagan's explanation as "ridiculous" since Reagan had made his decision six weeks earlier, largely motivated by the advice of Reagan's longtime friend, astrologer Carol Reiter.

During his first term, he froze government hiring and allowed taxes to rise to balance the budget. Shortly after beginning his term, Reagan announced his candidacy in the Republican primary for the 1968 presidential election, hoping to deprive candidate Nixon of Southern support and become a compromise candidate, even if Nixon or Nelson Rockefeller (the second most popular candidate among Republicans) received enough votes, to win the first ballot at the Republican Convention. However, at the convention, Nixon received 692 votes, 25 votes more than necessary. Rockefeller came in second and Reagan came in third.

Reagan was involved in conflicts with various protest movements, the conflicts became the most intense in the entire era. On May 15, 1969, during protests in Berkeley People's Park, Reagan sent California Highway Patrol officers and other police officers to pacify the protesters. This conflict became known as "Bloody Thursday". Reagan then called in 2,200 National Guardsmen to occupy Berkeley for two weeks under orders to crack down on Protestants. When the Symbionese Liberation Army captured Patricia Hearst in Berkeley and demanded food be delivered to the poor, Reagan joked:.

“What a pity that there is no botulism epidemic now!”

During his term as governor, Reagan's political beliefs came into final form, and he adhered to them throughout his later political career and his tenure as president. During his campaign, Reagan opposed the idea of ​​the welfare state. He strongly supported the Republican ideal of reducing over the economy, including the fight against unnecessary taxes from the federal government.

In the 1976 Republican presidential election, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford.

He identified himself as a conservative candidate and had the support of conservative organizations such as the American Conservative Union, which became the key to his political base, while President Ford enjoyed the support of more moderate Republicans. In the 1980 presidential election, Reagan challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter.

During the campaign, the rivals discussed the internal situation in the country and the taking of American hostages in Iran. Reagan emphasized his fundamental principles: cutting taxes to stimulate the economy, reducing the government's influence on the lives of ordinary citizens, states' rights, and a strong national defense.

After receiving the Republican Party's mandate for the presidential election, Reagan chose one of his main opponents as his vice-presidential candidate. An appearance at an October televised debate boosted his campaign.

Reagan ultimately won the election, winning 44 states and collecting 489 electoral votes. Carter won 6 states, collecting 49 electoral votes. In terms of the total number of votes, Reagan's result was 50.7% versus Carter's 41%. (Independent candidate John B. Anderson, a liberal Republican, scored 6.7 percent). For the first time since 1952, Republicans were able to take 34 additional seats in the Senate, but Democrats still remained in the majority.“As a result of the presidential elections, the most reactionary forces of American imperialism, led by Reagan, came to power in the United States.”

, - they wrote about this in the USSR.

During his presidency, called the Reagan Revolution, the president pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom. He made big changes to the economic, domestic and foreign policies of the United States, raised the morale of Americans, and people began to rely less on the government. Reagan kept diaries in which he commented on daily events and his views on them. In 2007 his diaries were published in a book"The Reagan Diaries"

Reagan became the oldest president to hold office (age 69) and the oldest president to hold office (age 77). He dedicated his first inaugural speech on January 20, 1981, the text of which he wrote himself, to the country's economic woes. “In times of crisis, government is not the solution, government is the problem.” While he was making his speech, 52 American hostages in Iran were released.

On March 30, 1981, just two months after he took office, President Reagan was assassinated. While leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington, where Reagan was giving a speech, a certain John Hinckley Jr.

stepped out of the crowd and fired six bullets in three seconds, literally mowing down the three accompanying Reagan. The president himself was wounded in the lung by a bullet that ricocheted off the armored glass of the limousine, and was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was urgently operated on. Despite his advanced age, Reagan quickly recovered from the incident and soon returned to his duties. Three wounded in the assassination attempt also survived, but one of them, presidential press secretary James Brady, remained disabled for life.

The investigation found that John Hinckley was being treated for mental illness and had previously harassed President Jimmy Carter. Hinckley’s criminal motive was his pathological obsession with actress Jodie Foster (he was sure that, having become famous throughout the country, he would be able to win the actress’s heart). The offender was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was imprisoned at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, where Hinckley remained until his death in 2014.

Reaganomics

During the 8 years of Reagan's presidency, the inflation rate dropped from 12.5% ​​(1980) to 4.5% (1988). The unemployment rate also fell, from 7.5% to 5.3%, peaking at 9.7% in 1982 and 9.6% in 1983, but still averaging 7.5%.

Reagan argued that the potential growth of the economy after tax cuts would offset the revenue losses. Reaganomics became the subject of political debate, with supporters pointing to improvements in key economic indicators as evidence of success, critics citing increased budget deficits and the national debt. The President's policy of "peace through strengthening" (also described as "firm but fair") generated a record peacetime increase of 40% in defense spending between 1981 and 1985.

During Reagan's presidency, federal income tax rates dropped significantly following the signing of the bipartisan Tax Recovery Act (1981).

The top tax level fell from 70% to 28%. Congress, on the other hand, raised some taxes every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding programs such as TEFRA, Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act. Despite the fact that TEFRA was "the largest peacetime tax increase in American history," Reagan is better known for his ideology of tax cuts and cuts. Actual growth of gross internal product increased strongly after the 1982 recession and continued to increase during Reagan's eight years in office, with an annual growth rate of 3.85%.

Unemployment reached 10.8% in 1982, the highest at any time since the Great Depression, and then began to fall during the remaining years of his presidency. Along with the fall in inflation, 18 million new jobs were created. The net decline in government revenue during the Reagan-era tax laws was 1 percent, according to Treasury Department estimates in January's first post-president budget. However, the total amount collected from federal income taxes doubled between 1981 and 1989, from $308.7 billion to $549.0 billion.

During Reagan's presidency, federal revenues rose to 8.2% (2.5% went to increased national security demands) and federal spending rose to 7.1%. Reagan also overhauled the tax code with the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Reagan's policies assumed that economic growth would begin when tax rates fell enough to stimulate investment, which would then lead to faster economic growth, more employment, and higher incomes. wages. Critics have noted that "trickle-down economics" is the belief that tax policies that benefit the rich will create a trickle-down effect on the poor (that is, hit the poor). Questions were raised about whether Reagan's policies were more supportive of the rich than those in need, and many poor and minority people viewed Reagan as indifferent to their efforts. Such views were reinforced by the fact that Reaganomics included freezing the minimum wage at $3.35 per hour, cutting federal aid to local governments to 60%, limiting government subsidies for the poor, halving Section 8 subsidies (for private farmers), and eliminating Community Development Block Grant program.

Consistent with his views on having as little government intervention as possible, Reagan cut the budgets of nonmilitary programs, including Medicaid, the grocery program, federal education programs, and the EPA. While the president defended legal programs such as Social Security and Medicare, his administration tried to remove many people with disabilities from the rolls social insurance disabled people.

The administration's stance toward the savings and loan industry was one of the causes of the savings and loan crisis (in the 1980s and 1990s), although there is no agreement on whether the cause of the crisis was isolated. To cover the again widening budget deficit, the United States resorted to borrowing on a large scale both at home and abroad, the national debt grew from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion. Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.

Reagan reappointed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve and in 1987 appointed monetarist Alan Greenspan to replace him.

Reagan ended domestic oil price controls that led to the energy crisis in the early 1970s. Subsequently, the price of oil fell and the 1980s did not experience fuel shortages like the 1970s. Reagan fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise by repealing the windfall profits tax in 1988, which in the past had increased dependence on foreign oil.

Some economists, such as Nobel laureates Milton Friedman and Robert A. Mundell, believe that Reagan's tax policies boosted the American economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s. Other economists, such as Nobel laureate Robert Solow, believe the deficit was the main reason Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, reneged on a campaign promise and raised taxes.

Cold War

Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating the shift away from détente that began in 1979 after entering Soviet troops to Afghanistan. Reagan predetermined massive construction armed forces The United States and took a new course towards the USSR, reviving the B-1 bomber program, canceled by the Carter administration, and the production of the MX Peacekeeper missile.

Was the initiator of the creation in 1983 National Trust Democracy (English: National Endowment for Democracy) is a non-governmental organization whose purpose is “to encourage the desire of peoples for democracy.”

In his famous June 8, 1982, address to the British Parliament in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster, Reagan declared: “The march to freedom and to democracy will relegate Marxism-Leninism to the dustbin of history.”

On March 8, 1983, he predicted that communism would collapse, declaring: "Communism is another sad, strange chapter in human history, the final pages of which are already being read." In a speech addressed to the National Association of Evangelicals from On March 8, 1983, Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire".

On March 23, 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a defense project to use ground- and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. Reagan believed the shield could make nuclear war impossible, but disbelief that the technology would work led opponents to dub the project "Star Wars" and argue that the technology's goal was unattainable. The Soviets considered the possible effects of SDI, Soviet leader Andropov stated that it "put the whole world at risk." For these reasons, David Gurden, a former aide to Ronald Reagan, believes that in retrospect SDI hastened the end of the Cold War.

On September 1, Soviet pilots shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 off Moneron Island. There were 269 passengers on board the plane, including Georgia Congressman Larry McDonald. Reagan described the event as a "massacre" and declared that the Soviet Union had turned "against the peace and moral precepts that govern human relations everywhere."

The Reagan administration responded to the incident by suspending all Soviet passenger air services in the United States and terminated several financial agreements being negotiated with the Soviets, causing financial damage to the USSR. As a result of the incident and errors in the Boeing navigation system, which was a possible reason for its deviation, Reagan announced on September 16, 1983, that the Navstar global positioning system (GPS) would be available for civilian use, free of charge, and would be cleaned up. to prevent similar navigation errors in the future.

Under a policy known as the Reagan Doctrine, the president and his administration also provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements to overthrow Soviet-backed governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Reagan deployed a special operations division to Afghanistan. They served as a means to train, equip and lead the Mujahideen forces in the fight against the Soviet army. Reagan's covert support program played a role in ending the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan, although the munitions left behind by the US later posed a threat to US troops fighting in the war in Afghanistan since 2001. As a break from Carter's policy of arming Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, Reagan agreed with the Chinese communist government to reduce arms sales to Taiwan.

Critics noted that Reagan's foreign policy was aggressive, imperialistic and accused it of "warmongering", although the policy was supported by American conservative forces who argued that it was necessary to protect US security interests.

Reagan was nominated as the Republican candidate in Dallas, Texas on a wave of positive sentiment from the electorate. He declared it was "a new morning in America" ​​due to the booming economy and the dominance of American athletes at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He became the first American President, which opened the games held in the USA.

Reagan's opponent in the 1984 presidential election was former Vice President Walter Mondale. The first presidential debate raised questions about Reagan's age and his ability to serve another term as president. Reagan's forgetfulness horrified his supporters, who knew the president as a witty man. It was later said that these were early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Reagan fought back at the second debate, responding to questions about his age with this barb: “I didn’t make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to use my opponent’s youth and inexperience for political purposes,” which led to general laughter and applause.

Reagan was re-elected in November 1984, winning 49 of 50 states. Mondale only won his native Minnesota (3,800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan made a historic record, reaching 525 electoral votes, a number that no US presidential candidate had ever received. In total, 58.8% of voters voted for Reagan, 40.6% for Mondale.

Reagan took the oath of office for a second term on January 20, 1985, in a private ceremony at the White House. Since January 20 was a Sunday, the inauguration was not celebrated publicly; the celebration took place the next day, January 21, in the Capitol Rotunda. January 21 was one of the coldest days on record in the District of Columbia, and the inauguration celebration was moved inside the Capitol building due to the bad weather.

In the summer of 1982, some conservative activists, including Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus and Clymer Wright of Houston, Texas, encouraged Reagan to remove Chief of Staff James Baker III (also from Houston) on the grounds that Baker was a close friend of George H.W. , sabotaged conservative initiatives in the administration. Reagan rejected Wright and Phillips' request for removal. In 1985, at Baker's request, he appointed him to the post of Secretary of the Treasury. Donald Regan, who had previously been Secretary of the Treasury, was appointed head of the administration. Reagan reprimanded Wright and Phillips for the "campaign of sabotage" directed against Baker.

Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion January 28, 1986 became one of the highlights of Reagan's presidency. All seven astronauts on board died. On the night of the crash, Reagan gave a speech written by Peggy Noonan, in which he quoted the opening and closing lines of John Magee's poem "Flying High."

In 1986, the presidential administration was rocked by a scandal involving secret arms sales to Iran for the purpose of financial support for the Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua, which was specifically prohibited by an act of Congress. The Iran-Contra affair was the biggest political scandal in the United States in the 1980s. The International Court of Justice (its jurisdiction in the case is disputed) ruled that the United States violated international laws in Nicaragua and its obligations not to interfere in the affairs of other states.

President Reagan openly ignored the scandal. He appointed two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft, and Edmund Muskey) to a commission known as the "Tower Commission" to investigate the facts of the case. The commission found no direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but strongly criticized him for his lack of attention to the management of his staff, which created the possibility of sabotage of funds. A separate Congressional report concluded that "If the President did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have known." In less than a week, Reagan's popularity dropped from 67 percent to 46 percent, the largest ever rapid decline popularity for the US President. The scandal led to the indictment of 14 members of the president's staff and 11 convictions.

Many Central Americans reproached Reagan for his support for the Contras, calling him a fanatical anti-communist blind to human rights abuses, while others said he "saved Central America." Sandinista Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's president, said he hoped God would forgive Reagan for his "dirty war against Nicaragua."

In 1986, the United States was found guilty by an international UN court of war crimes committed against Nicaragua.

Reagan recognized the change in Soviet direction under Gorbachev's leadership and changed the direction of diplomacy, with the intention of encouraging the Soviet leader to reach lasting arms agreements. Reagan's personal goal was to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons," which he viewed as "totally irrational, completely inhumane, good for nothing but murder, possibly destructive of life on Earth and of civilization." Reagan was able to begin negotiations on nuclear disarmament with General Secretary Gorbachev.

Between 1985 and 1988, Gorbachev and Reagan held four meetings, the first in Geneva (Switzerland), the second in Reykjavik (Iceland), the third in Washington and the fourth in Moscow. Reagan believed that if he could get the Soviets to allow more democracy and free speech, it would lead to reform and the end of communism.

Before his visit to Washington, where the third summit talks were to take place, the Soviet leader announced his intention to achieve a significant agreement on arms. The timing of the statement has led Western diplomats to argue that Gorbachev will make major concessions to the United States on the levels of conventional armed forces, nuclear weapons and policy in Eastern Europe. At the White House, Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons. When signing the treaty, the USSR, for the first time in the history of the Cold War, made significant concessions to its opponents, and from that moment on, Soviet positions began to surrender one after another.

The two leaders laid the groundwork for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or START I. Reagan insisted on changing the name of the treaty: not the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, but the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms.

After the signing of the INF Treaty, Soviet-American relations warmed sharply. The Cold War was still ongoing, but the intensity of the confrontation subsided sharply, and confrontational rhetoric began to give way to partnership. When Reagan visited Moscow in the summer of 1988 to participate in his fourth summit talks, he was viewed as a celebrity in the USSR and was no longer perceived as an enemy. When asked by a journalist whether Reagan continued to view the Soviet Union as an evil empire, the answer was given: “No. I was talking about another time, another era." At Gorbachev's request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at Moscow State University. In his autobiography, An American Life, Reagan expressed optimism about the new direction they were charting and his warm feelings toward Gorbachev.

The end of the Cold War was declared on December 3, 1989 at a meeting between Reagan's successor George Bush Sr. and Gorbachev in Malta, and legally formalized on November 21, 1990 at the summit in Paris, where the Charter for a New Europe was signed, stating that “the era of confrontation and division in Europe is over,” and proclaiming new era"democracy, peace and unity". A year later, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

Despite the fact that significant geopolitical changes that marked the end of the Cold War occurred already during the presidency of George W. Bush, the merit of R. Reagan, who laid a solid foundation for ending the confrontation, is difficult to deny.

In January 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate, causing concern about his health. No cancer was found and he was not sedated during the operation. In July of that year, at the age of 76, a third cancerous tumor was removed from his nose.

In August 1994, at the age of 83, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, an incurable nerve disease that destroys nerve cells and ultimately leads to death.

Five years before the diagnosis was made public, in July 1989, Reagan suffered a head injury. While in Mexico, he fell from a horse, and in the same year he was operated on for a subdural hematoma.

Over the years, the disease slowly eroded Reagan's mental abilities. He could only recognize certain people, including his wife Nancy. However, he continued to lead an active lifestyle, walking in the park near his home and along the beaches, regularly playing golf and often visiting his office in nearby Century City.

On January 13, 2001, Reagan fell and broke his hip while at his home in Bel Air. The wreckage was cleared the next day and Reagan, 89, returned home at the end of the week, although he had to undergo excruciating physical therapy at home.

On February 6, 2001, Reagan turned 90 years old, becoming the third ex-president in history to reach this age (the other two were Herbert Hoover, then Gerald Ford, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter reached this age).

As his illness progressed, Reagan began to appear less and less in public, and as a result, his family decided that he should live in peace and isolation.

In 2001, Nancy Reagan told Larry King during an interview on CNN that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband because she believed that "Ronnie would want people to remember him for who he was." Following her husband's diagnosis and subsequent death, Mrs. Reagan became an advocate for stem cell research, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for the research (which President Bush opposed). Mrs. Reagan believes this research could lead to treatments for Alzheimer's disease. In 2009, the president changed the federal government's position on this issue and advocated funding for this research.

Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at his home in Bel Air in Los Angeles at the age of 93. Death occurred at 13:00 local time (20:00 GMT). At his side at the time of his death was his wife, Nancy Reagan, who declined to provide details about her husband's condition before his death, saying only that "Ronnie's long journey has reached the point where I can no longer be with him." At the time of his death, Ronald Reagan was suffering from pneumonia due to Alzheimer's disease.

Nancy Reagan soon released a statement reading: “My family and I would like to inform the world of the death of Ronald Reagan at the age of 93 after 10 years of suffering from Alzheimer's disease. We appreciate everyone's prayers.".

Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, whose presidency went down in history with the American armed invasion of Grenada, the bombing of Libya, and the Star Wars program, was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, USA. The small apartment in which his parents lived was located in a building where a local bank was located on the ground floor. This allowed Reagan to joke that this was his only contact with the bank.
The child was born strong and fat, apparently the father’s Irish roots affected him.

According to family legend, the father named the newborn “Dutch” because of his resemblance to the fat Dutch babies depicted in paintings, mentioning that he could become president. But Ronald Reagan's childhood and teenage years gave no hope that this humorous prophecy would come true.

The family moved often, but in 1919 they returned to Tampico, and in the 20th they moved to Dixon, Illinois. In this town he attends high school and successfully plays on the school football team. After graduating from school, he entered Eureka College, from where he graduated in 1932 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Artistic career of the future president

Since childhood, Ronald Reagan dreamed of theater and cinema. Thanks to his excellent diction, he gets a position as a sports commentator at a local radio station. Starting work in Davenport, he gets a position at the NBC radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. His dream of Hollywood leads him to the set of a film studio in Burbank, where he gets his first role - a sports commentator. From 1937 to 1976, Reagan starred in 50 adventure films, where he played positive roles.
After the outbreak of World War II, he was drafted into the army, but not for combat service, but to the technical units of the US Air Force, where he was involved in the preparation and production of documentaries and educational films. During his military service, Ronald Reagan became interested in politics, but it was only by 1960 that he made his final choice - he began to vote for the US Republican Party. In 1962, he joined its ranks and began active political activity, having by this time experience in organizational work. He was already president of the US Screen Actors Guild and represented the interests of General Electric.

Ronald Reagan and his political career

Reagan became widely known in political circles after his famous “Time to Choose” speech, which he delivered at the Republican party conference in 1964. Thanks to this speech, Barry Goldwater became the Republican presidential candidate. And Ronald Reagan was asked to run for governor of California, which he did, defeating his opponents twice - in 1966 and 1970.

In 1980, he became a Republican candidate for the US presidential election and became the owner of the White House. Domestic policy, carried out under his leadership, was distinguished by a reduction in state intervention in the economy, lower taxes, and a reduction in government spending. In the foreign policy that he pursues, the idea of ​​​​fighting the “Evil Empire,” as he dubbed the USSR, has become the strategic line of the United States. This doctrine was expressed in the growth of the arms race and support for the anti-communist movement throughout the world.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan re-runs for president. The propaganda campaign he launched, in the form of the information program “Morning in America,” and obvious successes in the economy - all this gave him the opportunity to win an obvious victory over Democrat Walter Mondale. The second term of the presidency was marked by the beginning of détente and the warming of relations with the USSR.

The global crisis that broke out in 1987, caused by falling oil prices, led to a collapse in stock prices. American exchanges. In addition, the budget deficit grew, the balance of foreign trade was not in favor of the US economy. This led to a decline in Reagan's authority, so he did not start the presidential race for the 3rd time. George W. Bush represented the Republicans.
Ronald Reagan is remembered by the citizens of his country as a wise and responsible president, who, at the very beginning of his reign, was assassinated.

Ronald Wilson Reagan(Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911, Tampico, USA - 2004, Los Angeles) - 40th President of the United States (1981-1989).

Biographical information

Born in Tampico, Illinois. His father was a poor shoe merchant.

In 1932 he graduated from college, receiving a bachelor's degree in economics and sociology. Became a sports commentator on the radio. In 1937 he became a film actor. Over the next 27 years, he appeared in more than 50 films. In 1938, he met Jane Wyman on the set; they married in Hollywood two years later. They had a daughter, Maureen, in 1941, and a son, Michael, in 1945. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948. In 1952, he married Nancy, with whom he lived until the end of his life.

To free Americans held hostage by the Iranian Islamist regime before Reagan's election, he made a deal with Iran. This country was supplied with weapons (American and Israeli), and the money for them was transferred to the guerrillas fighting the communist regime in Nicaragua. All these actions were carried out secretly and urgently, without regard to laws and regulations. As a result, Reagan's political opponents staged trial(the Iran-Contra affair), which took a lot of energy from the Reagan administration.

In the 1988 elections, Republican candidate George W. Bush, supported by Reagan, won. Reagan retired and settled in California. At the end of his life he suffered from Alzheimer's syndrome, but enjoyed enormous popularity and sometimes spoke publicly.

Reagan and Jews in the USA

A period of tension almost thirty years ago, when Menachem Begin and Ronald Reagan were in power. In contrast to the apologies repeated by Benjamin Netanyahu, Begin took a completely different approach.

The chain of events began with Syrian dictator Hafiz al-Assad declaring that he would not make peace with Israel “even in a century.” Begin responded by making the Golan Heights part of Israel, ending the military administration that had governed the area after Israeli forces captured it from Syria in 1967. Legislation to this effect was easily passed in the Israeli Parliament on December 14, 1981.

This move, however, came only two weeks after the signing of the Strategic Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Israel, causing irritation in Washington. At the initiative of Secretary of State Alexander Haig, the US government announced the suspension of the just signed Agreement. A day later, on December 20, Begin summoned US Ambassador Samuel Lewis in Tel Aviv to reprimand him.

Yehuda Avner, a former aide to Begin, comments on the meeting and describes the atmosphere surrounding the episode in his article: “When Washington bridled and Begin fumed.” He says: "The Prime Minister invited Lewis to take his seat, stood still for a moment, sat down, took a stack of papers from the table, laid it on his lap, and [assuming] a stony face and a steely voice," began with "a thunderous reading of the treacherous acts committed Syria for decades." He ended with what he called a "very personal and urgent message" to President Reagan (a copy is on the Israeli Foreign Ministry website):

"Three times in the last six months the US government has 'punished' Israel," Begin began. He listed all three times: the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor, the explosion at the PLO headquarters in Beirut, and now the Golan Heights law. Throughout this enumeration, according to Avner, Lewis unsuccessfully tried to interject: “This is not a punishment, Mr. Prime Minister, but only a suspension...”, “Sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, this is not...”, “Mr. Prime Minister, I must correct you..."

Having thus vented his anger, Begin spoke about the centenary of Zionism:

What kind of expression is this - “punish Israel”? Are we your vassal state? Or a banana republic? Are we a boy of fourteen who gets slapped on the wrist if he misbehaves? Let me tell you who this government is made up of. It is made up of people who have spent their lives in resistance, struggle and suffering. You will not intimidate us with “punishments”. Those who threaten us will find us deaf to the threats. We are ready to listen only to rational arguments. You have no right to "punish" Israel - and I object to the very use of that term.

In his scathing condemnation of the United States, Begin challenged American moralizing about civilian casualties during Israel's attack on Beirut:

You have no moral right to lecture us about civilian casualties. We are familiar with the history of World War II, and we know what happened to the civilian population when you took action against the enemy. We are also familiar with the history of the Vietnam War and your phrase "body-count".

Referring to the US decision to suspend the recently signed agreement, Begin said that "The people of Israel have lived 3,700 years without a memorandum of understanding with America - and will live for another 3,700." Pausing, he quoted Haig as saying on Reagan's behalf that the US government would purchase $200 million in Israeli weapons and other equipment. "And now you're saying that won't happen. So the president is breaking his own word. Is that okay? Is that right?"

Referring to the recent fight in the US Senate over the decision to sell AWACS aircraft Saudi Arabia, Begin noted that "this is accompanied by an ugly anti-Semitic campaign." He cited three pieces of evidence as examples: the slogans "Begin or Reagan?", "We must not allow Jews to determine the course of United States foreign policy," and hints that senators such as Henry Jackson, Edward Kennedy, Robert Packwood and Rudy Boschwitz "are not loyal citizens."

In response to demands for the Golan Heights Act to be abandoned, Begin reminded Lewis that the very concept of abandonment was reminiscent of the “times of the Inquisition”:

Our ancestors went to the stake, but did not “renounce” their faith. We are not going to the fire. God bless. We are strong enough to defend our independence and our rights... Please be so kind as to inform the Secretary of State that the Golan Heights Law remains in force. There is no power on earth that can force us to cancel it.

The session ended without a response from Lewis. As Avner says: “Faced with an endless barrage, the ambassador considered it somewhat exaggerated and even partly paranoid and, seeing no point in continuing the dispute, left.

In 1948, Reagan left the Lakeside Country Club in Los Angeles because of his refusal to allow a Jew to join.

In 1967, he strongly supported Israel during the Six-Day War and was chairman at a pro-Israel rally at the Hollywood Ball in Los Angeles.

During his governorship he played important role in passing a law in the California legislature that authorized banks and thrifts to purchase and invest in Israeli government bonds. In the mid-1970s, Reagan wrote a weekly column for the Jewish Press, whose readership was primarily Orthodox Jews in New York and other parts of the United States.

His closest (Jewish) adviser was Theodore E. Cummings of Los Angeles, who served in Reagan's entourage for a number of years. During the 1980 presidential campaign, Los Angeles businessman Albert Spiegel led the Jewish Coalition for Reagan. Also close to Reagan's collaborators were Max Fisher, Maxwell Rabb, George Klein, Gordon Sachs, and Jacob Stein. Neoconservative Jewish intellectuals such as Eugene W. Rostow, Max Kempelman, Irving Kristol, and Norman Podhoretz were active in the Reagan campaign, and many became influential in the Reagan administration.

In the 1980 election, 40% of Jewish voters voted for Reagan, another 40% voted for former President Jimmy Carter - the most low percentage for a Democrat over the past 80 years and 20% for John Anderson, indicating that the Democratic Party can no longer take the Jewish vote for granted. Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn voted overwhelmingly for Reagan; for the first time, the Jewish vote was divided along religious lines within the United States.

The economic policy of the Republicans (especially actively implemented in 1981-89, when R. Reagan was president, and therefore called “Reaganomics”) is beneficial for the middle class, to which the vast majority of Jews belong.

Reagan's Middle East Policy

Reagan saw early raw footage of the liberation of concentration camp prisoners and referred to it during his Yom Hashoah address at the White House in 1981. However, none of this guaranteed that, at the helm of the nation, he would be particularly sensitive to the Israeli cause.

After assuming the presidency, Reagan's position on the Middle East could be summarized as follows:

• first, a militarily strong Israel, both democratic and anti-Soviet, is "the only strategic asset in the region we can rely on" (Washington Post, August 1979);
• secondly, countering the terrorist PLO and abandoning the idea of ​​a PLO state, since it would be a surrogate for the Soviet Union;
• third, strong support for Israel as America's most trusted ally in the Middle East and unequivocal support for Egyptian and Israeli peacekeepers as the best way involving other Arab states in the peace process.

Interestingly, one of the first crises affecting Israel, which was to have enormous consequences for the region, revolved around the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak by Israeli fighter jets on June 7, 1981. Only the new US ambassador to the UN, Jeanne J. Kirkpatrick, stood up against the anti-Israel vote.

Realizing that the word "aggression" had dire consequences for Israel, since it would show that the attack was unprovoked and that the attacked party, Iraq, could now legally take unspecified measures of self-defense, she strongly argued that the United States should refrain from voting for this resolution , unless the word "aggression" was excluded.

Ultimately, after the case was sent directly to President Reagan, her efforts prevailed and “aggression” was dropped from the resolution, allowing the United States to half-heartedly join in the condemnation. This set the tone for what was to follow the UN during the Reagan years.

In this context, especially regarding UN activities in relation to Israeli–Arab relations, Reagan understood that accusations of illegality aimed at Israeli behavior in the West Bank and Gaza had nothing to do with the rule of law in the sense of objective jurisprudence. Rather, it had to do with the use of law as a weapon to isolate Israel on the diplomatic front as a prelude to legitimizing terrorism and other military actions against Israel as a rogue state. The formula that Reagan repeatedly espoused was that “settlements are not illegal.”

Likewise, when it came to Arab efforts to define East Jerusalem as "occupied territory", President Reagan instructed his UN delegates to veto such resolutions on the grounds that the final status of Jerusalem must be agreed upon and not subject to a legal agreement. . He authorized the American veto - the only veto - of an April 19, 1982 Security Council resolution in which he tried to condemn the 1982 shooting of Palestinian worshipers at the Dome of the Rock by a deranged Israeli gunman - even though the US was outraged by the shooting - because introducing a clause equating Jerusalem to occupied Arab territory.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in a city called Tampico, in the state of Illinois, USA. His father's name was John Edward "Jack" Reagan, and his mother's name was Nellie Wilson Reagan. For various reasons, the family periodically changed their place of residence, but in 1920 they settled in the city of Dixon, in the state of Illinois. There, Ronald's father opened his own shoe store. In the same city Ronald graduated High school, this event happened in 1928. In addition to studying at school, the boy was actively involved in sports and showed leadership qualities, for which students elected him to the presidency more than once. Among other things, he enjoyed participating in school plays. He spent his summer holidays usefully, namely, he worked as a bodyguard.

After Ronald won an athletic scholarship, he attended Eureka College, where he studied economics and sociology. In 1932, Reagan went to work on radio as a sports commentator.

Hollywood career and marriages

The year 1937 was notable for Reagan by signing a seven-year contract with the Warner Brothers film studio. In thirty years he managed to star in fifty films.

In 1940, Ronald tied the knot with actress Jane Wyman, and soon the couple had a daughter, named Maureen. Eight years later the family broke up. Poor eyesight was the reason that he was not allowed into military service. But he did not stay away from those terrible events and made training films for the army.

From 1947 to 1952, Reagan headed the Screen Actors Guild. Then he met the charming actress Nancy Davis. The young people got married in 1952, and after some time Reagan became the father of two more children, who were named Patricia and Ronald.

Soon Reagan's film career began to decline, and in 1954 he began hosting a weekly television drama series called “General Electrics Theatre.” This period of his life became a turning point for Reagan, his liberal views changed to more conservative ones. He does not hesitate to discuss the interests of the business community, advocates for the interests of the government, which is under excessive pressure from all sides, opposes wasteful spending, and generally raises topics that will be central to his future political activities.

Governorship and presidency

In 1964, Reagan demonstrated his political knowledge when he gave an endorsement speech for US Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Reagan later ran for public office for the first time and defeated Democrat Edmund "Pat" Brown Jr. to become governor of California.

Reagan put forward his own candidacy for the presidency more than once, and after a while he managed to gain the support of the party. This event took place in 1980, he was called the oldest president of America; at that time Reagan was already 69 years old.

Inauguration and assassination attempt

Reagan gave his inaugural address on January 20, 1981, at which time he noted that government does not solve problems, government is the problem. He says that his arrival will usher in an era of national revival and that he will make his country "a ray of light for those who lack freedom."

On March 30, 1981, Reagan left the Washington Hilton Hotel with several advisers, a shot was fired, but Secret Service agents quickly pushed the president into a limousine. This time was enough for the shooter to wound Reagan; the bullet pierced his lung and almost hit his heart. This incident did not stop the President, as, a few weeks later, he returned to his work duties.

Domestic policy

Reagan in the country's internal affairs reduces social programs and encourages the introduction of various businesses. It also reduces taxes, which helps stimulate economic development. He calls for increased military spending and ends government regulation of private businesses. Thanks to his innovations, in 1983 the United States experienced a period of economic recovery.

Foreign policy

The priority issue in the president's policy was the Cold War. Reagan considered the Soviet Union an “evil empire,” which provoked him to further action. He is taking active steps to increase the production of weapons and strengthening the country's military forces. He introduced the "Reagan Doctrine", according to which America would help: Latin America, Asia and Africa in supporting anti-communist movements.

In addition, the presidential administration is experiencing certain difficulties with the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.

President Reagan's second term was marked by establishing contacts with reformist Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1987, the heads of state of Russia and the United States signed a historic agreement that provided for the destruction nuclear weapons medium range.

The next elections, held in 1984, ended in another victory for Reagan. He beat Walter Mondale, who was the Democratic Party candidate. During his second term as president, Reagan faced the Iran-Contra scandal, a rather complex system of supplying weapons to US opponents in Iran, the proceeds from the operations went to support anti-communist rebels in Central America.

Last years and death

The White house Reagan left in 1989, the president and his wife Nancy returned to their home in Los Angeles, California.

In 1994, Reagan released a handwritten letter that mentioned Alzheimer's disease.

Reagan passed away on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93. An outstanding political figure was buried in California on the territory of the presidential library.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, USA, to John Edward "Jack" Reagan and Nellie Wilson Reagan. The family often moved from city to city and finally settled in Dixon, Illinois in 1920, where Jack Reagan opened a shoe store. In 1928, Ronald graduated from Dixon High School, during which he was actively involved in sports, was elected president by the students, and played in school plays. During the summer holidays, the boy worked as a bodyguard.

After winning an athletic scholarship, Ronald enters Eureka College and focuses his efforts on studying economics and sociology. After graduating in 1932, Reagan took a job as a radio sports commentator in Iowa.

Hollywood career and marriages

In 1937, Reagan signed a seven-year contract with the Warner Brothers film studio. Over the next thirty years, he would appear in more than 50 films.

In 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman, from whose marriage he had a daughter, Maureen. The couple also adopts a boy, Michael. In 1948 the family breaks up. During World War II, Reagan was exempt from military service due to poor eyesight, and therefore he spent this time making training films for the army.

From 1947 to 1952, Reagan headed the Screen Actors Guild. During the same period, he met actress Nancy Davis. The couple got married in 1952. In his marriage to Nancy, Reagan had two children, Patricia and Ronald.

Reagan's film career began to decline, and in 1954 he became the host of the weekly television drama series General Electrics Theatre. It was at this time that his liberal political views changed to conservative ones: he held discussions about the interests of the business community, opposed excessive control over government and wasteful spending - raising topics that would later become the main tasks of his political activities.

Governorship and presidency

Reagan appeared on the national political scene in 1964, after delivering a successful speech in support of US Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Two years later, running for public office for the first time, Reagan defeated Democratic appointee Edmund "Pat" Brown Jr. to become governor of California.

Running unsuccessfully for the presidency twice, in 1968 and 1976, Reagan finally received party approval in 1980. Reagan, 69, becomes the oldest US president.

Inauguration and assassination attempt

On January 20, 1981, during his inaugural address, Reagan noted that “government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

He proclaims an era of national revival and expresses his intentions to make America “a ray of light for those who lack freedom.”

On March 30, 1981, as Reagan and several advisers were leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel, a shot was fired, but quickly reacting Secret Service agents managed to push the President into the limousine. Already in the car it is discovered that he was still wounded. According to the medical report, the bullet pierced the lung, narrowly missing the heart. Within a few weeks, the president returns to work.

Domestic policy

In the country's domestic affairs, Reagan promoted policies to cut social programs and encourage business. Tax cuts are used to stimulate economic development. He also advocates increasing military spending and ending government regulation of private business. By 1983, the US economy began a period of expansion.

Foreign policy

The most important foreign policy issue of Ronald Reagan's presidency is the Cold War. Having baptized Soviet Union"evil empire", Reagan is rolling out programs to increase weapons production and strengthen the country's military forces. He introduces the "Reagan Doctrine", under which the United States provides assistance to Africa, Asia and Latin America in support of anti-communist movements.

In addition to this, the presidential administration has to deal with the complication of its already difficult relationship with Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.

During his second term as president, Reagan established relations with reformist Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1987, the heads of the United States and the USSR sign a historic agreement on the destruction of medium-range nuclear weapons.

Re-election in 1984

In November 1984, having defeated Democratic candidate Walter Mondale, Reagan won the election again.

However, the president's second term is overshadowed by the Iran-Contra scandal, a complex scheme to supply weapons to US opponents in Iran, the money from which was funneled to support anti-communist rebels in Central America.

Last years and death

After leaving the White House in 1989, Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to their home in Los Angeles, California.

In November 1994, Reagan released a handwritten letter announcing his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Almost ten years later, on June 5, 2004, Reagan died in his own home at the age of 93. Reagan was buried on the grounds of the presidential library in California.

Quotes

Democracy is worth dying for because it is the most worthy political system ever developed by mankind.

People who have freedom of choice always choose peace.

Information is the oxygen of modern times.

Government exists to protect us from each other. The government crosses the line when it begins to protect us from ourselves.

They say that politics is the second oldest profession. I happened to find out that it is strikingly similar to the first one.

Violence, in the end, only takes a person captive. Freedom captivates him.

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