By: Shannon Basford The Honorable Paul Ryan held the gavel and stood at the Speaker’s chair for the first time as the Speaker of the House on Oct. 29, but how did he get there?

The Speaker was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he still lives with his wife, Janna and their children, Liza, Charlie, and Sam. Ryan is currently serving his 9th term in Congress as a Republican representative of the first district of Wisconsin. He resigned as the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee soon after taking the Speaker’s oath. Ryan was Mitt Romney’s running mate during the 2012 Presidential election. They lost to President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden.

During his first speech at the Speaker’s chair, Ryan began by thanking former Speaker John Boehner for his five years of service as leader of the House. He also asked the Republican party, not to “hide our disagreements, but to embrace them.”

For more information about the new Speaker, click here.