Henry Ross Perot (27 June 1930-9 July 2019) was an American businessman and politician best known for his 1992 and 1996 presidential bids.
Biography[]
Henry Ross Perot was born in Texarkana, Texas in 1930, and he served in the US Navy from 1949 to 1957 before becoming an IBM salesman. He founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, and, in 1984, General Motors bought a controlling interest in the company for $2.4 billion. During the Iranian Revolution, he coordinated the escape of two American hostages (both of them EDS employees) from Iranian custody. Perot went on to establish Perot Systems in 1988, and he became a Vietnam War POW/MIA activist. Due to his opposition to the Gulf War and NAFTA, he decided to become involved in politics. In 1992, he ran as an independent conservative and populist candidate, opposing the Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. He received 18.9% of the popular vote, the largest showing by an independent candidate, but failed to win any electoral votes. In 1996, he ran for President as the head of his own Reform Party USA, performing best among moderates. However, he only won 8.4% of the vote, again losing to Clinton. In 2000, he endorsed Republican George W. Bush over Reform candidate Pat Buchanan during the presidential election, and he supported Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012. He died in 2019 at the age of 89.