Oliver North

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He served in the Vietnam War and later worked on the National Security Council during the Iran–Contra affair, a late-1980s political scandal. The scheme involved illegally selling weapons to Iran to secure the release of American hostages in Lebanon. North devised the second phase: diverting the sale proceeds to support Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, which the Boland Amendment had specifically banned from receiving U.S. funding. In exchange for testifying to Congress about the operation, North received limited immunity from prosecution. He was initially convicted on three felony counts, but those convictions were vacated and reversed, and all charges were dismissed in 1991 due to the immunity.

In 1994, North ran for a U.S. Senate seat from Virginia held by Chuck Robb. In a three-way race, he lost by 2.73%. From 1995 to 2003, he hosted a talk show on Radio America, and from 2001 to 2016, he hosted *War Stories with Oliver North* on Fox News. In May 2018, he was elected president of the National Rifle Association, but resigned on April 27, 2019, amid a dispute with CEO Wayne LaPierre; Carolyn D. Meadows succeeded him.

North was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Ann Theresa (née Clancy) and U.S. Army Major Oliver Clay North. He grew up in Philmont, New York, graduating from Ockawamick Central High School in 1961, then attended the State University of New York at Brockport for two years. While at Brockport, he spent a summer in the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class at Quantico, Virginia, and received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1963. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1968, having missed a year due to serious back and leg injuries from a car accident that killed a classmate. At the academy, he defeated future Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Senator Jim Webb in a middleweight championship boxing match—North showed film of the match to Marine medical officials to prove his recovery. His graduating class included Dennis C. Blair, Michael Mullen, Jay L. Johnson, Charles Bolden, and Michael Hagee.

During the Vietnam War, North served as a platoon commander and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, and two Purple Hearts. He earned the Silver Star while leading a counter-assault against the People’s Army of Vietnam during Operation Virginia Ridge, under heavy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire, displaying “courage, dynamic leadership and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger.” In 1970, he returned to South Vietnam to testify as a character witness for Lance Corporal Randall Herrod, a former subordinate charged with murdering sixteen Vietnamese civilians in Son Thang; North said Herrod had saved his life. Herrod and one other Marine were acquitted.

After Vietnam, North served as an instructor at the Marine Basic School (1969–1974), director of the Northern Training Area in Okinawa, Japan (1973–1974), plans and policy analyst at Headquarters Marine Corps (1975–1978), and operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune (1978–1980). He graduated from the College of Naval Command and Staff at the Navy War College in 1981.

In 1981, North joined the National Security Council staff in Washington, D.C., serving as a lobbyist until 1983, then as deputy director for political–military affairs until 1986. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1983. At the NSC, he led efforts to find those responsible for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 299 American and French personnel, and arranged the mid-air interception of an EgyptAir jet carrying the perpetrators of the Achille Lauro hijacking. He also helped plan the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the 1986 bombing of Libya. During his Iran–Contra trial, he spent his last two active-duty years at Headquarters Marine Corps in Arlington County, Virginia. He requested retirement effective May 1, 1988, after being indicted for conspiring to defraud the United States by channeling arms sale profits to the Contras. After his trial and felony convictions, all convictions were reversed on appeal.

North’s military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, and two Purple Hearts.