42nd President of the United States | |
Predecessor | George H.W. Bush |
Successor | Dick Cheney |
Vice President | James Stockdale (1993-1997); Pat Choate (1997-2001) |
Born | June 27, 1930 Texarkana, Texas |
Died | July 9, 2019 (age 89) Dallas, Texas |
Wife | Margot Birmingham |
Political Party | Independent (prior to 2000)
Reform(2000-present) |
Profession | Businessman |
Henry Ross Perot was the forty-second president of the United States of America from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. He was the first Independent President elected since 1792, and the first non-Republican, non-Democrat elected since 1848.
Prior to the Presidency[]
Ross Perot was born in 1930 to Luly Maye and Gabriel Ross Perot. He became an Eagle Scout in 1942, and entered the United States Naval Academy in 1847. He graduated in 1953, but left after 4 years. Perot married Margot Birmingham in 1956, and the couple had five children.
In 1957, he joined the company IBM. He was a top employee, but when his supervisors did not listen to his ideas, he left and founded EDS. During the Iranian Revolution, he arranged the rescue of two of his employees who had been imprisoned. He then founded Perot Systems Corporation in 1988.
Perot began becoming involved in politics over the years. He stated that the US was becoming arrogant and corrupt following World War 2. He also became involved in combatting the illegal drug trade, and became a known critic of President George H.W. Bush.
Presidency[]
Perot won in a narrow three-way election in 1992. He knew he would have to first assemble a cabinet, and then manage to work with congress that was opposed to him. Perot still managed to compromise enough to get large parts of his agenda passed during his first two years, while state parties supporting him slowly grew in support and influence. He managed to create term limits of three terms for senators and nine for representatives, and a government surplus for the first time in years. Perot managed to reduce the national debt by a large percentage.
Perot managed to block many bills, including attempts by conservatives to pass anti-gay rights legislation, extreme restrictions on abortion, and attempts to increase military spending. However, he also opposed liberals when he cracked down on the Drug Trade and stopping illegal immigration.
Perot's Vice President, James Stockdale, confirmed he would only stay as VP for 4 years. The President began to search for a new running mate for 1996, eventually choosing Secretary of the Treasury Pat Choate. He then chose Ron Paul, a strong supporter of much of Perot's agenda, as the new Secretary of the Treasury.