Linda Gladstone

Linda Marie Walenko Gladstone (b. 7 Oct 1962) is the 4th President of the Drake Islands. She has served in the office since 1 January 2010. She is the nation's first female President and its first Orthodox Christian President.


 * + Linda Gladstone
 * Position || 4th President of the Drake Islands
 * Term in office || 1 January 2010 - present
 * Preceded by || Russell Bentley
 * Succeeded by || Incumbent
 * Political party || Libertarian Republican
 * Born || 7 October 1962
 * Spouse || Stuart Gladstone (married 1999)
 * Religion || Orthodox
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 * Born || 7 October 1962
 * Spouse || Stuart Gladstone (married 1999)
 * Religion || Orthodox
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 * Religion || Orthodox
 * }
 * }

Education & Academic Career
She was born Linda Marie Walenko in Towsonsburg, DI, the daughter of Ukranian immigrants Andrei and Maria (Lucanchuk) Walenko. She pursued both her undergraduate and graduate studies at Davidson Island University, majoring in Political Science. After receiving her doctorate in 1988, she taught at the University of Gold Island. Two years later, she returned to Davidson Island University as a Professor of Political Science. During her tenure at DIU, she earned a reputation for being highly knowledgeable about the Drakian legal and political systems, as well as understanding their benefits and faults compared with other nations' systems. Her reputation grew with the publication of a number of books on the subject, notably Fertile Soil On Barren Ground: The Roots Of the Drake Islands Political System (1994) and The Individual As Sovereign Under the Drakian Flag (1997).

Early Political Career
As a student, she became an outspoken advocate of the Drake Islands' independence from the United States and Great Britain, and joined the Libertarian Republican Party upon its founding in 1984. She delayed her decision to enter politics while she followed her academic pursuits. In 1992, she was elected to the House of Delegates, representing the University neighborhood of Towsonsburg. In 1998, she was promoted to Speaker of the House, a position she held until 2000. That year, she was appointed to the Senate. In 2005, she was named Speaker of the Senate.

In 2007, she resigned from her Senate seat to accept an appointment as Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister. Under Foreign Affairs Minister Oliver Hill, Gladstone took a more active approach than her predecessors, fuelling speculation that she was planning to run for President. In late 2008, she made those plans official. With support from then-President Russell Bentley and other LRP officials, Gladstone won over a crowded field in November 2009.

First Term of Presidency, 2010-present
Gladstone has acknowledged that she faces several challenges as President. Those challenges include keeping the nation's economy afloat, helping in combatting international terrorism, and maintaining the country's sovereignty. She says she will resist any pressure to compromise on her country's status as a tax haven; she has also pledged to oppose any international treaties that she says will undermine Drakian sovereignty or individual freedoms.

Personal Life
She married musicologist and author Stuart Gladstone in 1999 after the couple dated for several years. They have no children.