About Ron

The Honorable Ron Ramsey, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Tennessee, has built a reputation as the leading voice for economic growth in the General Assembly.

Ramsey, the first Republican Senate Speaker in 140 years, has been named “The Best Lawmaker for Business in Tennessee” by Business Tennessee magazine for his success in passing pro-growth policy to improve the state’s business climate.

A small business owner himself, Ramsey believes job growth must be the top priority for state government. Ramsey started his own surveying company just three years after graduating from East Tennessee State University with a degree in industrial technology in 1978. His business has since grown to a real estate and auction company – Ron Ramsey and Associates, a well-respected land company in Upper East Tennessee.

Ramsey was elected by the First District of Sullivan County to serve two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and, in 1996, won election to the State Senate, representing Tennessee Senate District 2, which encompasses Johnson and Sullivan counties. As the Senate’s leading Republican, Ramsey engineered an historic GOP takeover of the chamber and was elected Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor in 2007. He is the first GOP Senate Speaker in Tennessee in 140 years and the first from Sullivan County in over 100 years. In the 2008 elections, which saw Republicans suffer major losses across the country, Ramsey led Tennessee’s Republicans to a gain of three Senate seats and a solid five seat majority.

In August 2008, Lt. Governor Ramsey was elected Chairman of the Tennessee delegation to the Republican National Convention and in January 2009, the Republican Lt. Governor’s Association named Speaker Ramsey their national Chairman, in charge of strategic and fundraising efforts nationwide to elect more Republican Lieutenant Governors.

Prior to becoming Speaker, Lt. Governor Ramsey served as Majority Leader and Caucus Chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus and is also a former Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee.

Active in his profession and community, Ramsey served as president of the Bristol Association of Realtors and as president of the Blountville Business Association. He was a member of the first “40 Under Forty” class recognized by The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia, and is active in several local chambers of commerce.

The Lt. Governor is a member of the Blountville Ruritan and the Indian Springs Optimist Club, a past member of the Farm Credit Advisory Board, and a member of Elizabeth Chapel United Methodist Church where he serves as a Sunday School teacher. Ramsey resides in Blountville with his wife, Sindy. They have three daughters, Tiffany, Sheena and Madison.