Dennis Hastert

Life and work

The story behind the role.

American politician (born 1942).

John Dennis Hastert ( HASS-tərt; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician who served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 1987 to 2007 and was the sixth longest-serving speaker in history, and the longest serving Republican. In 2016, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for financial offenses related to the sexual abuse of teenage boys, although he was never convicted of any sexual crimes. From 1965 to 1981, Hastert was a high school teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Illinois. He lost a 1980 bid for the Illinois House of Representatives but ran again and won a seat in 1981. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1986 and was re-elected every two years until he retired in 2007. Hastert rose through the Republican ranks in the House, becoming chief deputy whip in 1995 and speaker in 1999. As Speaker of the House, Hastert supported the George W. Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies. After Democrats took control of the House in 2007 following the 2006 elections, Hastert declined to seek the position of minority leader, resigned his House seat, and became a lobbyist at the firm of Dickstein Shapiro. In May 2015, Hastert was indicted on federal charges of structuring bank withdrawals to evade bank reporting requirements and making false statements to federal investigators. Federal prosecutors said that the funds withdrawn by Hastert were used as hush money to conceal his past sexual misconduct. In October 2015, Hastert entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Hastert pleaded guilty to the structuring charge (a fe…

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