Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has made it official and Tuesday announced his plan to run for president because “we can return America to hope and opportunity.”

In a two-minute video, he recalled is previous work on Capitol Hill, saying that when he was House Speaker, he worked to control spending reduce unemployment, cut taxes and balance the federal budget.

“We’ve done it before, we can do it again,” said Gingrich, who also announced his intentions via Twitter.

Gingrich is one of the Republican field’s better-known names. He is reputed to be a prolific fundraiser and to have a brilliant mind but sometimes lacks discipline in a number of ways. Sometimes he goes off message, as when he said that President Obama was influenced by a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” school of thought. Sometimes he’s forgotten he was married, and his history of affairs and divorces still concern social conservatives.

Gingrich’s campaign marks an attempt to restart his political life after four turbulent years as speaker, during which he launched a budget showdown with President Bill Clinton that led to two government shutdowns and left Congress amid ethics questions.

In this week’s Public Policy Polling survey, the Georgia Republican ranked third, behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who came in second, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman, File)