William Ryan deGraffenried, Jr. (1950 – December 7, 2006) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who served as President Pro Tempore of the Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 State Senate from 1987 to 1995.

DeGraffenried was a graduate of the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 and the Cumberland School of Law

Cumberland School of Law

Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...

 at Samford University

Samford University

Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....

. He represented Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...

 in the Alabama State Senate

Alabama Senate

The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...

 from 1978 until 1994 and served as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, from 1987 until 1994. He was elected to the Senate in a special election when then- State Sen. Richard Shelby

Richard Shelby

Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....

 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to fill the vacancy of Walter Flowers

Walter Flowers

Walter Flowers was an American Democratic politician who represented Alabama's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from January 1969 to January 1979.-Private life:...

.

After Governor H. Guy Hunt

H. Guy Hunt

Harold Guy Hunt was an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.- Early life :...

 was removed from office due to criminal conviction, the Lieutenant Governor, Jim Folsom, Jr.

Jim Folsom, Jr.

James Elisha Folsom, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who was the 50th Governor of Alabama from April 22, 1993 to January 16, 1995.-Early life and career:...

 became the new governor. DeGraffenried, as the President Pro Tempore of the state Senate, became next in line for the governorship for the remainder of the quadrennium.

DeGraffenried ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 1994, losing the Democratic primary to future Governor Don Siegelman

Don Siegelman

Don Eugene Siegelman is an American Democratic Party politician who held numerous offices in Alabama. He was the 51st Governor of Alabama for one term from 1999 to 2003...

. He then returned to practicing law in Tuscaloosa and later became a contract lobbyist.

His father, Ryan DeGraffenried, Sr.

Ryan DeGraffenried, Sr.

Ryan DeGraffenried, Sr. was an attorney and politician from Alabama.A Tuscaloosan, DeGraffenried ran for Governor of Alabama on two occasions . On his first attempt, he was defeated in the Democratic primary runoff by George Wallace, who went on to become Governor.In 1966, he ran again as a...

, was also a notable Alabama politician.

He died in 2006 at Hoover

Hoover, Alabama

Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...

, Alabama, aged 56.

Electoral history

Alabama Senate (16th district), 1982

• Ryan DeGraffenried (D) (inc.) - 20,149 (100.00%)

Alabama Senate (21st district), 1983

• Ryan DeGraffenried (D) (inc.) - 7,164 (100.00%)

Alabama Senate (21st district), 1986

• Ryan DeGraffenried (D) (inc.) - 23,101 (100.00%)

Alabama Senate (21st district), 1990

• Ryan DeGraffenried (D) (inc.) - 24,445 (100.00%)

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (Democratic primary), 1994

• Don Siegelman
  Don Siegelman
  Don Eugene Siegelman is an American Democratic Party politician who held numerous offices in Alabama. He was the 51st Governor of Alabama for one term from 1999 to 2003...
  
   - 273,621 (38.62%)
• Ryan DeGraffenried - 260,571 (36.78%)
• George Wallace, Jr.
  George Wallace, Jr.
  George Corley Wallace, III is an American politician from Alabama.-Personal life:...
  
   - 174,302 (24.60%)

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (Democratic primary runoff), 1994

• Don Siegelman
  Don Siegelman
  Don Eugene Siegelman is an American Democratic Party politician who held numerous offices in Alabama. He was the 51st Governor of Alabama for one term from 1999 to 2003...
  
   - 297,937 (57.32%)
• Ryan DeGraffenried - 221,877 (42.68%)

Source: OurCampaigns.com DeGraffenried page