Richard Stone (politician)

Richard Stone

Richard Bernard Stone (born September 22, 1928 in New York City , New York - † July 28, 2019 in Rockville , Maryland ) was an American diplomat and politician of the Democratic Party . From 1975 to 1980 he sat for the US state Florida in the US Senate .

Early life and family

Stone was born in New York City. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved with him to Florida in Miami-Dade County , where he attended schools. From then on he studied law at Harvard University . In 1949 he received his Bachelor of Arts there . He received his Bachelor of Laws from Columbia University in 1954 . In 1955 he returned to Florida and was admitted to the bar. He opened his own law firm in Miami . In 1966 he became a Miami City Attorney.

Stone was married to Marlene Lois Stone and had three children with her.

Career

Stone gained his first political experience from 1967 in the Florida Senate . After three years as a Senator, he was named Secretary of State of Florida in 1970.

In the Democratic Party's primary election for the Florida Senate seat, which stood for election in 1974, Stone successfully beat eleven candidates. The Republican candidate was millionaire Jack Eckerd. Stone was able to prevail against Eckerd in the main election. After Stone's predecessor, Edward Gurney , submitted his resignation on December 31, 1974, Stone was sworn in as a senator on January 1, 1975, two days earlier than originally planned. During his tenure as Senator, Stone served on the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations . There he was particularly committed to the ratification of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties .

His efforts for re-election in 1980 were unsuccessful. In the Democratic primary, he was unable to prevail against six other candidates. Bill Gunter was nominated instead. In the main election in November 1980, Gunter could not prevail against the Republican Paula Hawkins . Stone announced his resignation on December 31, 1980, leaving the Senate three days before the regular end of his term.

After Stone left the Senate, he returned to practice as a lawyer. During the tenure of US President Ronald Reagan , Stone served repeatedly on special commissions or as an advisor to Reagan. In 1983 Stone was appointed envoy for Central America by Reagan . In 1984 he was recalled after differences with the Department of State . President George HW Bush named Stone the United States Ambassador to Denmark in 1991 . Until October 1993 he remained the representative of the United States in Denmark. Until 1998, Stone held various positions in business. Since then he had withdrawn into private life. Stone died in 2019 at the age of 90.

Web links

• Richard Stone in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Richard Stone in the nndb (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Amanda Rosa, Allyson Waller: Richard Stone, first Jewish senator to represent Florida since Civil War, dies at 90. The Miami Herald , July 30, 2019, accessed the following day.