Newt Gingrich is a CNN political commentator, regularly appearing across the network’s programming and special political coverage.

Gingrich was a Republican candidate for President of the United States from 2011 to 2012. His broad policy agenda focused upon energy development, national security, scientific advancement, and immigration reform.

Gingrich served the Sixth Congressional District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1978 to 1999. He is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America,” a popular set of proposals that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994, by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Gingrich was elected and served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, the first balanced budget in a generation, and the first tax cut in 16 years. In 1995, he was named TIME’s “Man of the Year.”

Recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues, and international affairs, Gingrich served as a member of the Defense Policy Board, as well as a distinguished visiting scholar at the National Defense University, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Gingrich is a former college professor of history, environmental studies, and geography. He is the author of more than two dozen best-selling historical novels and public policy books including, To Renew America, A Nation Like No Other, Gettysburg, and Victory at Yorktown: A Novel. His latest book, Breakout, was published in November 2013.

Gingrich and his wife, Callista, also host and produce historical and public policy documentaries at Gingrich Productions. Recent films include Nine Days that Changed the World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, and Rediscovering God in America.

Gingrich received his B.A. in history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Follow him on twitter @newtgingrich.