Oliver North, Reagan-era scandal figure, to be NRA president

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The National Rifle Association (NRA), the leading US gun lobby, on Monday named as its next president retired US Marine Colonel Oliver North, a Fox News commentator best known for his central role in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair.

The group named North following its weekend annual meeting in Dallas, where President Donald Trump vowed not to tighten US firearms laws despite suggesting earlier this year that he would take on the NRA in the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida school.

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"Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader," NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre said in a statement. "In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our president."

Who is Oliver North?

North, who already serves on the NRA's board of directors, was a pivotal figure in the Iran-Contra scandal involving the secret sales of arms to Iran by Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration.

The 74-year-old, who was a White House National Security Council aide, set up a weapons pipeline to the rebels even though Congress had forbidden military aid to them.

Oliver North testifies during Iran-Contra hearings on Capitol Hill in 1987. /VCG Photo

The Reagan administration hoped the sale would help facilitate the release of Americans held hostage in Lebanon. Profits from the weapons sales were funneled to anti-Sandinista rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua.

North was convicted of three felonies in 1989, but his convictions were overturned on appeal in 1990 because witnesses in his trial may have been influenced by congressional testimony he had previously given under immunity from prosecution.

A hero to some on the political right, North lost as a Republican candidate for the US Senate from Virginia in 1994 after former first lady Nancy Reagan publicly said that North had a "great deal of trouble separating fact from fantasy" and "lied to my husband and lied about my husband."

Oliver North, Republican candidate for Senate in Virginia, with wife Betsy after casting a vote, November 8, 1994. /VCG Photo

North has been a conservative radio talk show host and frequent commentator on conservative television networks since. He is stepping down from his commentary role at Fox News television, the NRA said in its statement.

Guns in America

The February massacre of 17 teens and educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, had seemed to mark a turning point in America's long-running gun debate, sparking a youth-led movement for tighter gun controls.

Trump said in the days following the massacre that politicians have to disagree with the NRA "every once in a while."

But since then, no major new federal gun controls have been imposed, although the Trump administration is pursuing a proposed regulatory ban on "bump stocks," which enable a semi-automatic rifle to fire a steady stream of bullets. The devices were used in an October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people.

(With input from agencies)