George Ryan

George Ryan (2007)

George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934 in Maquoketa , Iowa ) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of the state of Illinois from 1999 to 2003  . The doctorate pharmacist is a member of the Republican Party . He was also Speaker of the House of Representatives of Illinois and Vice Governor and Secretary of State in that state. When he was elected governor in 1998, he prevailed against Congressman Glenn Poshard of the Democratic Party with 51% to 47% of the vote.

Early years and political advancement

George Ryan grew up in Kankakee County , Illinois. There he also attended elementary schools. After serving as a soldier during the Korean War , he attended Ferris State College in Michigan until 1961 , where he studied pharmacy. He then took a stake in his father's pharmacies, which developed into a thriving family business. Ryan's political career began on the county board of Kankakee County. He was represented there between 1968 and 1973. Between 1973 and 1983 he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives; in his last legislative period he acted there as speaker from 1981 . He spent the next 20 years in the highest government positions in Illinois. Between 1983 and 1991 he was under Governor James R. Thompson as Vice Governor of his deputy. Under Governor Jim Edgar , he was Secretary of State from 1991 to 1999 . In 1998 he was nominated by his party as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Illinois Governor

After the successful election, Ryan took up his new office on January 11, 1999. As governor, he worked to improve the state's infrastructure. This included expanding the motorway network and thus improving transport routes. The educational institutions were also sponsored by Governor Ryan. In addition, he supported technological progress in his state. In 1999, Ryan hit the headlines when he met Fidel Castro as the first incumbent governor of a US state . Domestically, this meeting was highly controversial in the USA. For the next gubernatorial election in November 2002, he waived another candidacy. Ryan achieved international recognition when, at the end of his tenure in 2003, he pardoned all - at that time 167 (including four women) - prison inmates in Illinois who had been sentenced to death . He commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment . He justified his decision by stating that the American legal system was "arbitrary and unpredictable and therefore immoral". His decision was particularly controversial in the USA. Because of his commitment, he was proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Further life

In April 2006 Ryan was found guilty of slipping lucrative public contracts on friends and political partners. Including a deal with the computer company IBM to the extent of 25 million dollars should have been. The allegations went back to his time as Secretary of State and included corruption and bribery. In September 2006 it became known that the ex-governor would have to go to prison for six years. Ex-Governor James R. Thompson's law firm had taken on the defense in this case. He was released from custody in July 2013.

Ryan was married to Lura Lynn Lowe until her death in 2011. They have six children together.

Web links

• George Ryan in nndb (English)
• George Ryan in the National Governors Association (English)
• George Ryan at The Political Graveyard
• Illinois Blue Book History and Election Results, p. 374