Dennis Michael O'Brien (born 1952) is an American Republican Party politician who served as the 137th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2007 to 2008. First elected in 1976, he represented the 169th Legislative District in the state House for the most part of four decades. He served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council for one term, from 2012 to 2016. Personal life A graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School, he attended La Salle University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Labor Relations. He has three sons, Dennis Jr., Brendan and Joseph. Political career O'Brien was first elected to the Pennsylvania House in 1976 and served two terms before giving up his seat in 1980 to challenge fellow Republican Charles Dougherty for his congressional seat. O'Brien lost to Dougherty by 480 votes in the primary. In 1982, O'Brien ran for his old seat in the Pennsylvania House and won. He was re-elected in every succeeding election he contested. Prior to his elevation to the Speakership, he served as chairman of the House Committees on Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, Health and Human Services, Consumer Affairs, Judiciary. Upon leaving the Speaker's office, he served as chairman of the Committee on Children and Youth. Autism Inspired by his late nephew Christopher's diagnosis, O'Brien has been an advocate for autism issues and founded the Pennsylvania Legislative Autism Caucus. In over 20 years, he has proposed a number of bills requiring mandatory school and health care funding for patients. He worked with Governor Ed Rendell to organize a Bureau of Autism Services within the state's Office of Developmental Programs. In 2008, one of his bills, requiring insurance companies to cover autism treatment, was passed and signed into law. 2007 Speaker Election O'Brien became the Speaker of the House following deals between Republicans and Democrats. Despite a one-seat Democratic majority, the Democratic leader, Bill DeWeese, was unable to garner the votes necessary to win back the Speakership due to some dissatisfaction within his own caucus because of his handling of matters as leader, and notably due to the decision by one member in his caucus to vote for John Perzel, the incumbent Speaker. DeWeese nominated O'Brien, a Republican and a Perzel rival, in a surprise move. O'Brien went on to defeat Perzel, 105–97. O'Brien was the first minority-party Speaker in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2008 Primary Election O'Brien defeated