Allen West
Allen Bernard West (born February 7, 1961)[1] is an American political commentator, retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, author, and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida's 22nd congressional district in the House from 2011 to 2013.
West was deployed to Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003. In 2003, West was charged in an incident that involved the beating and simulated execution of an Iraqi policeman. After an Article 32 hearing was held, West accepted non-judicial punishment, was fined $5,000, and allowed to retire as a lieutenant colonel.[2]
After leaving the military, West moved to Florida, where he taught at a high school for a year and worked for a defense contractor, part of this time spent in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser to the Afghan National Army. West entered politics in 2008 as the Republican nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional district in 2008, losing to Democratic incumbent Ron Klein. In a re-match in 2010, he won the seat, coinciding with significant Republican gains in the 2010 midterm elections.
West took office in January 2011 as the first African-American Republican member of Congress from Florida since Josiah T. Walls left office in 1876 near the end of Reconstruction.[3] In Congress, West was a high-profile member of the Tea Party Caucus and the Tea Party movement.[4]
Redistricting due to the 2010 census resulted in West switching to Florida's 18th congressional district for the 2012 House elections. He lost to Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy in what was the most expensive congressional House race of that cycle.[5][6]
In July 2019, West announced he would be running for the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas in 2020. He will be facing the incumbent chairman, James Dickey.[7]
On May 23, 2020, West was involved in a motorcycle crash just outside Waco, Texas. A car veered unexpectedly, resulting in a collision involving West and another motorcycle. He was airlifted to the hospital, and his social media team announced he was in “stable condition.”[8]
Allen Bernard West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Elizabeth (née Thomas; 1931–1994) and Herman West, Sr. (1920–1986) on February 7, 1961.[1][9] His father and older brother were both career military officers; West's father served in World War II, and his brother served in Vietnam.[10] His mother was a civilian employee of the United States Marine Corps. Although both of his parents were registered Democrats, West has remarked that they raised him "very conservatively".[4]
In the tenth grade, West joined the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and entered the Army in 1983 when he graduated from the University of Tennessee. West is the third of four consecutive generations in his family to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.[10] He later received a master's degree in political science from Kansas State University. He also earned a master of military arts and sciences degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military history and operations.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق