About the Speaker

Dan Quayle earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from DePauw University in 1969, and a law degree from Indiana University in 1974, before being elected to Congress in 1976. In 1980, he was elected to the Senate, becoming, at age 33, the youngest senator ever elected by the state of Indiana. As a senator, he authored the 1982 Job Training Partnership Act, and his legislative work was recognized in the areas of defense, arms control, labor, and human resources.

In January of 1989, Mr. Quayle was elected the 44^th Vice President of the United States. As vice president, he served as president of the U.S. Senate, as a statutory member of the National Security Council, and as chairman of the National Space Council. Widely considered to have been one of the most active vice presidents in history, he was a vigorous advocate for economic growth, a strong national defense, American leadership in the world, and the revitalization of non-governmental institutions – families, neighborhoods, churches, and small businesses – that are the foundation of American civilization.

In 1989, President George Bush appointed Quayle as the head of the Council on Competitiveness, a post he held throughout his term. Today, Dan is chairman of the Hudson Institute’s Competitiveness Center, a non-partisan, educational institution founded in March of 1993, to help America meet the challenge of global competition. He is the author of two books, Standing Firm and The American Family: Discovering the Values that Make Us Strong, and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column, carried by major media outlets across the nation.