Professional History
Wead was born in Muncie, Indiana. In 1979, Wead joined entertainer Pat Boone and Dan O’Neill in co-founding Mercy Corps. In 1991, Wead provided initial funding to help launch a Mercy Corps economic recovery program in the newly formed Republic of Kazakhstan.
In the 1980s, Wead organized the Annual Charity Awards, now under the name International Charity Association. Ten First Ladies and Presidents have served as honorary chairpersons of this prestigious event, including Lady Bird Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, George H. W. and Barbara Bush, and George W. and Laura Bush.
In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Despite having lived in Arizona for only a few years, Wead won the Republican nomination after championing a tax limitation initiative and airing a television commercial featuring praise by former President Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian efforts. However, the Democratic nominee, Karan English, received the endorsement of former Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater who thought Wead was out of touch with Arizona because of his relatively brief residency in the state — two years to English's 22. Wead countered that Goldwater's support of abortion rights spurred the unexpected crossing of party lines. He ended up losing in the general election to English.
Wead was an active behind-the-scenes player in the 2000 United States presidential election, receiving some credit for George W. Bush's victory in the Iowa straw polls of 1999. From 1984 to 2000, he served as an on-and-off adviser to both presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Time magazine called Wead an insider in the Bush family orbit and "the man who coined the phrase 'Compassionate Conservative.'" George W. Bush first picked up the term “Compassionate Conservative” in 1987 from Wead. In 1979, Wead gave a speech titled “The Compassionate Conservative” at the annual Charity Awards Dinner, and tapes of the speech were later sold across the country at corporate seminars.
In March 2008, Wead helped create the website Religious Freedom In America, focusing on government threats to religious observance.
He served as an adviser for the Ron Paul 2012 Campaign.
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