Ronald Reagan — 40th President (1981–1989)

**Ronald Reagan** was "The Great Communicator" — a former actor and California governor who restored American optimism after the malaise of the 1970s, won the Cold War through military buildup and negotiation, cut taxes, deregulated industry, and fundamentally shifted American politics to the right for a generation. He was the most consequential president since FDR, loved by the right and vilified by the left, and universally acknowledged as the best communicator to hold the office since JFK.