Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives A. Halleck who became Republican House leader and Minority Leader from 1959 to 1965, Hale Boggs who died in a plane crash, and Dick Gephardt who became the Democrats' House leader but as Minority Leader since his party lost control in the 1994 midterm elections. Since 1995, the only Majority Leader to become Speaker is John Boehner, though indirectly as his party lost control in the 2006 midterms elections. He subsequently served as Republican House leader and Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and then was elected Speaker when the House reconvened in 2011. In 1998, with Speaker Newt Gingrich
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives candidate wins such a majority, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected. The last time repeated votes were required was in 1923, when the Speaker was elected on the ninth ballot. The new Speaker is then sworn in by the Dean of the United States House of Representatives, the chamber's longest-serving member. In modern practice, the Speaker is chosen by the majority party from among its senior leaders either when a vacancy in the office arrives or when the majority party changes. Previous Speakers have been minority leaders (when the majority party changes, as they are