STONE, RICHARD BERNARD

STONE, RICHARD BERNARD (1928– ), U.S. politician. Born in New York, Stone graduated from Harvard in 1949 and from Columbia University Law School in 1954. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1955. He was city attorney of Miami 1966–67 and was elected to the Florida State Senate in his first try for office, serving 1967–70. He was then elected Florida secretary of state, serving from 1971 until he resigned to run for the U.S. Senate on the Democratic ticket in 1974. He was elected the first Jewish senator to serve Florida since 1845 but was defeated in the 1980 elections. Stone was active in Jewish and Zionist affairs. In July 1975, he was named to the Presidential Committee on U.S. Participation in the Olympics by President Gerald R. Ford. Stone served as ambassador at large and special envoy to Central America (1983–84) and as U.S. ambassador to Denmark (1992–93).