John Dennis Hastert (/ˈhæstərt/; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House in history, Hastert resigned and began work as a lobbyist after the Democrats gained a majority in the chamber in 2007. Starting in 2016 he was incarcerated for 13 months for sexually abusing four teenage boys as a wrestling coach.