Ronald Ernest Paul is a Republican United States Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas, a physician, a bestselling author, and a 2008 U.S. presidential candidate.

Originally from the Pittsburgh suburb of Green Tree, Pennsylvania, he studied at Duke University School of Medicine; after his 1961 graduation and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he became a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, serving outside the Vietnam War zone. He later represented Texas districts in the U.S. House of Representatives . He entered the 1988 presidential election, running as the Libertarian nominee while remaining a registered Republican, and placed a distant third.