Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North will be the National Rifle Association’s next president, the group said Monday.
“This is the most exciting news for our members since Charlton Heston became president of our association,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said in a statement. “Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader. In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our president.”
North hosts a show on Fox News but will retire from the network effective immediately, the NRA said.
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The NRA‘s Board of Directors initiated the process for North to lead the organization after NRA President Pete Brownell announced Monday he would not be seeking a second term. He was elected president in May 2017.
“Wayne and I feel that in these extraordinary times, a leader with his history as a communicator and resolute defender of the Second Amendment is precisely what the NRA needs,” Brownell said in a letter to the NRA’s board.
Brownell, who is leaving to devote more time and energy to his company, Brownells, said there is “extraordinary support” for North.
NRA Second Vice President Carolyn Meadows will serve as interim president until North takes over, the group said.
“I am honored to have been selected by the NRA Board to soon serve as this great organization’s president,” North said. “I appreciate the board initiating a process that affords me a few weeks to set my affairs in order, and I am eager to hit the ground running as the new NRA president.”
During former President Ronald Reagan’s administration, North, then a National Security Council staff member, admitted involvement in the Iran-Contra affair, which involved the illegal sale of weapons to Iran and the diversion of money in support of the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua.
North was found guilty on three counts, but his conviction was ultimately overturned.