Business leader and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes has been selected as the presidential guest speaker for the 2017 AAOS Annual Meeting. Mr. Forbes is chair and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine in the United States as well as international editions such as Forbes Europe and Forbes Asia. He stepped into the national spotlight in 1996 and 2000, when he campaigned to become the Republican nominee for president of the United States.

Mr. Forbes was born in Morristown, N.J., in 1947, and earned his B.A. in history at Princeton University in 1970. While at Princeton, Mr. Forbes helped found Business Today, which is still in publication and now the largest student-run publication in the United States.

From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Forbes served as chairman of the Board for International Broadcasting—a commission that, among other things, provided oversight of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Those two initiatives were later praised by Poland's President Lech Walesa as critical to the struggle against communism during the Cold War.

During the presidential primaries of 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes campaigned on a platform that included a flat income tax, medical savings accounts, Social Security reform, political term limits, strong national defense, and an educational reform package that advocated for charter schools, vouchers, and home-schooling options.

As editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, Mr. Forbes writes editorials in the publication's "Fact and Comment" section. He is a regular panelist on the Fox News show, "Forbes on FOX," a financial show that features commentary from the editorial staff of Forbes.

Prolific author
Mr. Forbes is also a noted author. His most recent book, "Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming the Fed will Restore Hope and Prosperity," was coauthored with long-time collaborator Elizabeth Ames and released in 2015. Other books written by Mr. Forbes and Ms. Ames include:

• "Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy—and What We Can Do About It"
• "Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets are Moral and Big Government Isn't"
• "How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy"

Mr. Forbes also wrote "Power Ambition Glory: The Stunning Parallels between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today … and the Lessons You Can Learn" (with John Prevas), "Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS," and "A New Birth of Freedom."

Mr. Forbes currently serves on the boards of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Board of Visitors for the School of Public Policy of Pepperdine University. Mr. Forbes also served on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University for 10 years.

Steve Forbes will speak at the 2017 AAOS Annual Meeting in the San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom 20, on Thursday, March 16, at 11:45 a.m.

Peter Pollack is the electronic content specialist for AAOS Now. He can be reached at ppollack@aaos.org