Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and independent candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008 as well as a Green Party candidate in 1996 and 2000, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader is both the first Arab American and Lebanese American presidential candidate in the U.S.

Nader was born in Winsted, Connecticut. His parents, Nathra and Rose Nader, were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon. His family`s native language is Arabic,[2] and he has spoken it along with English since childhood.

Nathra Nader was employed in a textile mill, and at one point owned a bakery and restaurant where he engaged customers in political discourse.[3]

Nader graduated from Princeton University in 1955 and Harvard Law School in 1958.[4] He served in the United States Army for six months in 1959, then began work as a lawyer in Hartford, Connecticut. Between 1961 and 1963, he was a Professor of History and Government at the University of Hartford. In 1964, Nader moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He also advised a United States Senate subcommittee on car safety. In the early 1980s, Nader spearheaded a powerful lobby against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mass-scale experimentation of artificial lens implants. Nader has served as a faculty member at the American University Washington College of Law.

Nader`s first consumer safety articles appeared in the Harvard Law Record, a student publication of Harvard Law School, but he first criticized the automobile industry in an article he wrote for The Nation in 1959 called "The Safe Car You Can`t Buy."[5] In 1965, Nader wrote Unsafe at Any Speed, a study that revealed that many American automobiles were unsafe, especially the Chevrolet Corvair manufactured by General Motors. The Corvair had been involved in numerous accidents involving spins and rollovers, and there were over 100 lawsuits pending against GM in connection to accidents involving the popular compact car. These lawsuits provided the initial material for Nader`s investigations into the safety of the car.[6] GM tried to discredit Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past, and hiring prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations.[7][8] GM failed to uncover any wrongdoing, and never explained resorting to smear tactics instead of defending the car in the popular press, where the company had considerable corporate influence. GM`s avoidance of technical journals makes more sense, as it was well known among auto engineers that the early (1960-64) Corvair`s swing axle suspension handled miserably.[9][10] Upon learning of GM`s actions, Nader successfully sued the company for invasion of privacy, forced it to publicly apologize, and used much of his $284,000 net settlement to expand his consumer rights efforts. Nader`s lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the New York Court of Appeals, whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous surveillance."[11]

Nader`s advocacy of automobile safety and the publicity generated by the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, along with concern over escalating nationwide traffic fatalities, l