Ronald Ernest Paul is a Republican United States Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas, a physician, a bestselling author and the fourth-place finisher in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries.
Originally from the Green Tree suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Gettysburg College in 1957 and then studied at Duke University School of Medicine. After his 1961 graduation and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he became an Air Force flight surgeon, serving outside the Vietnam War zone.
Paul later represented Texas districts in the United States House of Representatives (1976–1977, 1979–1985 and 1997–2013). He entered the 1988 presidential election, running as the Libertarian nominee while remaining a registered Republican and placed a distant third.