Paul Ryan has represented Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives since 1999. He is currently Chairman of the House Budget Committee.
Ryan is the youngest of four children. He was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in January, 1970.
At 16, Ryan found his father dead of a heart attack. Since then, Ryan says he has worked to stay in shape, saying his grandfather and great-grandfather also died from heart attacks.
In high school, Ryan was prom-king and voted the "Biggest Brown Noser" of his 1988 class.
Ryan graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a bachelor's degree in economics and political science in 1992. In college, Ryan worked as an Oscar-Mayer salesman. He was also a congressional staffer for Rep. Jack Kemp.
Ryan worked for Kemp again when he was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996. Ryan has said he considered Kemp, who died in 2009, a mentor.
