Ronald Wilson Reagan

The 40th President of the United States (in office 1981-1989). Born in Tampico, Illinois, as the second son of a shoe salesman, he graduated from Eureka College in the same state and became a sports announcer for a local station. In 1937, he entered Hollywood and played leading roles in about 50 films, and was called the "Errol Flynn of B-movies" (Errol Flynn (1909-1959) was a handsome action star active in the 1940s), with one of his few notable works being King's Row (1941). He supported the Democratic Party and respected President F. D. Roosevelt, but became more right-wing as he cooperated with the Red Scare in the film industry, serving as chairman of the Screen Actors Guild for a total of eight years from 1947, and then signed a contract with General Electric, preached the gospel of capitalism through television appearances and nationwide lectures, and became a Republican in 1962. He excelled in speeches and acting, and his speech in support of candidate Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election was well-received, leading to his election as governor of California two years later. He was re-elected in 1970, turning the state's finances into a surplus. In 1976, he narrowly lost the Republican nomination to incumbent President Ford, but in the 1980 presidential election, he won by a large margin, defeating incumbent President Carter, with the support of the people who were dissatisfied with the decline of national prestige symbolized by the Iran hostage crisis. Under the slogan "A strong and prosperous America," he advocated a hard-line approach against the Soviet Union and expanded the military, while at the same time curbing social welfare spending, deregulating various regulations, and implementing significant tax cuts, achieving the "Reagan Revolution." In the 1984 presidential election, he was re-elected by defeating Democratic candidate and former Vice President Mondale Walter Frederick Mondale (1928-2021).

However, the series of economic policies known as "Reaganomics" led to huge deficits in the national finances, and the United States suffered from "twin deficits" due to a further downturn in the balance of payments, and fell into debtor status in 1985. In order to boost national prestige, the United States took a series of hardline measures, such as sending troops to Lebanon, bombing Libya, invading Grenada, and supporting the Nicaraguan rebel group (the Contras), which earned it the distrust of the Third World.

Despite being the oldest president in history, he overcame serious injuries from an assassination attempt and cancer surgery, and maintained the support of the people with his personality. However, in October 1986, it was discovered that one of his direct subordinates had secretly sold weapons to Iran and diverted the proceeds to the Contra forces (Iran-Contra Affair), and he was questioned by Congress about his management skills and responsibility. His mismanagement should have been considered worthy of impeachment, but he was saved by a Republican-majority Congress. In an attempt to restore his reputation, he signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with then Soviet Secretary General Gorbachev at the end of 1987, and further aimed to halve strategic nuclear weapons, but at the same time he was obsessed with the realization of SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative = Star Wars). The general arms race during this time weakened the Soviet economy, and it can be said that he created the course that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. He resigned at the end of his term in 1989. In 1994, he announced that he had Alzheimer's disease.

[Sodei Rinjiro]

"My American Dream - Reagan's Memoirs" translated by Hiroshi Ozaki (1993, Yomiuri Shimbun) " "Reagan's America" ​​by Akira Naka (1980, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカ合衆国第40代大統領（在任1981～1989）。イリノイ州タンピコに靴セールスマンの次男として生まれる。同州ユーレカ大学を卒業後、地方局のスポーツ・アナウンサーとなる。1937年ハリウッド入りし、約50本に主役を演じたが「B級映画のエロール・フリン」（エロール・フリンErrol Flynn（1909―1959）は1940年代に活躍した美男活劇スター）といわれ、わずかな代表作に『キングズ・ロウ』（1941）がある。民主党支持で大統領F・D・ルーズベルトを尊敬したが、1947年から計8年間映画俳優協会会長を務め、映画界の赤狩りに協力するなかで右傾化し、さらにゼネラル・エレクトリック社と契約、テレビ出演と全国講演により資本主義の福音(ふくいん)を説き、1962年には共和党員となる。演説と演技に優れ、1964年の大統領選でゴールドウォーター候補への応援演説が評判となり、2年後にカリフォルニア州知事に当選。1970年に再選され、州財政を黒字に変えた。1976年には現職の大統領フォードと共和党の指名を争って惜敗したが、1980年の大統領選ではイラン人質事件が象徴する国威の低落に不満な国民の支持を得て、現職の大統領カーターを大差で破り当選した。「強くて豊かなアメリカ」をスローガンに、対ソ強硬路線を唱え軍備を拡大する一方で、社会福祉支出を抑制し、諸規制緩和と大幅な減税を行うなど「レーガン革命」を成し遂げ1984年の大統領選では民主党候補の前副大統領モンデールWalter Frederick Mondale（1928―2021）を破って再選された。

　しかし「レーガノミックス」とよばれる一連の経済政策は国家財政の大赤字を招き、さらに国際収支の逆調でアメリカは「双子の赤字」に苦しみ、1985年には債務国に転落した。国威発揚のため、レバノン出兵、リビア爆撃、グレナダ侵攻、またニカラグアの反政府勢力（コントラ）を支持するなど強硬策を連発して、第三世界の不信を招くことになった。

　史上最高齢の大統領でありながら、暗殺未遂事件による重傷と癌(がん)の手術を乗り越え、その人柄で国民の支持をつなぎ留めたが、1986年10月、直属の部下がイランに武器を秘密売却、その代金をコントラ勢力に横流ししていた事実が発覚（イラン・コントラ事件）、管理能力と責任を議会から問われた。本来ならば弾劾に値する失政といわれたが、共和党多数の議会に救われた。名誉回復をねらって1987年末、当時のソ連書記長ゴルバチョフとの間で中距離核戦力全廃条約（INF全廃条約）を調印、さらに戦略核兵器の半減を目ざしたが、一方でSDI（戦略防衛構想＝スターウォーズ）の実現にも執着した。この間の一般軍拡競争によってソ連経済を弱体化させ、のちのソ連解体と冷戦終結に至る路線をつくりあげたともいえる。1989年任期満了により辞任。1994年には自らアルツハイマー病であることを公表した。

［袖井林二郎］

『尾崎浩訳『わがアメリカンドリーム――レーガン回想録』（1993・読売新聞社）』▽『仲晃著『レーガンのアメリカ』（1980・日刊工業新聞社）』

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