Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

John Dennis Hastert is an American former politician, teacher, wrestling coach and convicted sex offender who represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Hastert was the 6th longest-serving Speaker of the House in history and the longest serving Republican. After Democrats gained a majority in the House in 2007, Hastert resigned and began work as a lobbyist. In 2016, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for financial offenses related to the sexual abuse of teenage boys.

The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section II, of the U.S. Constitution. By custom and House rules, the speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these many roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates—that duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party—nor regularly participate in floor debates.

January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 363 days remain until the end of the year.