Ryan Stone

The Hon. Dr. Cleaver Ryan Stone, usually known as Ryan Stone (b. 16th January 1948) is a Georgeland politician, journalist, academic and writer who was the 18th Governor of Bradmarch from 1997 until 2000 and is currently an Independent candidate in the election to become the next President of Georgeland. Born in Stratton, Bradmarch, Stone was the son of a police officer who had fought in the Second World War as an infantryman. Stone attended a boarding school until 1965, and in 1966 applied to attend the Georgeland Defence Force Academy. He was accepted as a air force cadet and graduated in 1970 with a degree in engineering and the rank of Flight Officer. Stone was honourably discharged from the air force in 1976 as a Wing Commander and completed a PhD in military history from the University of Mainland in 1979. He was a Professor of Military History at the University of Long Island from 1984 until 1988. In 1988 he accepted a post as Dean of History at the University of Bradmarch and became its Vice-Chancellor in 1991. As Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Stone gained a reputation for economic management and as a spokesman for education issues. He was highly critical of the Jonas government's education policies and resigned as Vice-Chancellor in 1996 in protest at the cutting of the university's budget by 15%. The following year he ran for Governor of Bradmarch and was elected with 42% of the vote. As Governor, Stone was visible and popular, but his education stance, as well as his positions on social issues such as abortion and gay rights, put him at odds with the very conservative Jonas government. In particular, a minor crisis erupted in 1999 when Jonas initially suggested he would not give his assent to a law which would have denied adoption rights to same-sex couples. Jonas eventually relented and signed the law, despite making his views clear. In 2000 the first election under Bradmarch's new electoral laws, creating fixed-terms for the legislature and the Governor, was held. Unusually for a gubernatorial campaign, and somewhat contraversially, Jonas endorsed one of Stone's opponents in the election, James McConnell over the incumbent. The election was won by Francine McKinnon, against whom Stone had run in 1997. Stone gained 26% of the vote compared to 34% for McConnell and 37% for McKinnon. After leaving office, Stone continued his academic career and became a Research Fellow at the University of Mainland and a Visiting Fellow in Military History at the University of Topstad. In 2005 he was a guest lecturer at the Defence Force Academy. In November 2007, Dr. Stone declared his intention to run for President. Stone's candidacy came as a surprise to many. He is not expected to pose a serious threat to the major party candidates, but many have suggested his status as an Independent may mean he picks up as many as ten per cent of the vote.