Michael Johns (born September 8, 1964) is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

commentator, policy analyst, writer, a former speechwriter for President George H. W. Bush, and a leader and spokesman in the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget def ...

. He was also a health care executive.

Early life and education

Johns was born in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 census. It is the fastest-growing major city in Pennsylvania ...

, and graduated from

Emmaus High School Emmaus High School is a large public high school located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The school serves grades nine through 12 in Pennsylvania's East Penn School District in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Emmaus High School is loca ...

. He graduated from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

in 1986, receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration with a major in economics. As a University of Miami student, he was inducted into the

Iron Arrow Honor Society The Iron Arrow Honor Society is an honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the university. Founded at the University of Miami in 1 ...

, the highest honor awarded a student by the university. He has also studied humanities at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, England.

Political and public policy career

Johns began his political and public policy career as a

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

fellow working with Rep. Donald L. Ritter. In 1986, he began work at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presi ...

, a Washington, D.C.-based

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

. Johns was an assistant editor of the Foundation's journal, '' Policy Review'', for which he wrote on national security and foreign policy issues. In 1988, he became a policy analyst for African and

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

affairs in the Heritage Foundation's foreign policy and defense studies department. While there, he researched and wrote on topics including

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, U.S. relations with

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, the famine in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, and the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

s in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Johns was a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

speechwriter during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. He has also worked for

New Jersey governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

and

9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...

chairman

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

, Sen. Olympia Snowe and at the

International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. It is committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issu ...

. Johns has been a spokesman for the

. He has served on the leadership team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.

Health care career

Johns was vice president of Gentiva Health Services and has held senior positions at

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

and Electric Mobility Corporation.

Books and commentary

Johns wrote the ''U.S. and Africa Statistical Handbook'', and contributed to ''Finding Our Roots, Facing Our Future: America's 21st Century'' and ''Freedom in the World: The Annual Guide of Political Rights and Civil Liberties''. He has written for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', ''

Human Events ''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013. ''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the U ...

'', and other publications, and appeared as a commentator on

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

, and other media. In 2012, ''

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes d ...

'' named him one of ten Republicans to follow on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Personal life

Johns has been a resident of

Deptford Township, New Jersey Deptford Township (pronounced DEP-ford) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population wa ...

."Candidates seek area tea party's support at rally"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'', April 18, 2010. Accessed June 2, 2022. "Michael Johns, a national tea party leader from Deptford, speaks to the crowd."

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Michael 1964 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American non-fiction writers American economics writers American male non-fiction writers American foreign policy writers American health care businesspeople American political commentators American political writers American television personalities Male television personalities Businesspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Eli Lilly and Company people George H. W. Bush administration personnel International relations scholars International Republican Institute The Heritage Foundation Pennsylvania Republicans People from Deptford Township, New Jersey Public officials from Allentown, Pennsylvania United States presidential advisors Writers from Allentown, Pennsylvania Emmaus High School alumni University of Miami Business School alumni Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge