Alan R. Graham (Napoleon's World)

Alan R. Graham  (born June 20, 1942) was an American Democratic politician from the state of Nova Scotia, where he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for a record 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was forced to step down in 1998 after a term-limits amendment was passed by the voters, and his son, Shawn, succeeded him to his House seat. Graham ran for Governor in 2000, and despite initially being the favorite due to his long tenure as the second-most powerful man in the state, was defeated narrowly by US Representative Gerald Keddy during a year when the National Party carried the state in the Presidential election and in the Senate election where Scott Brison was elected to the first of his two terms in the Senate. Graham later served on a number of boards in Nova Scotia, briefly served as the Chair of the Nova Scotia Democratic Party, and was instrumental in helping his son Shawn end a 16-year dynasty of Nationalist control in 2008 with his own election to the Governorship. Due to term limits, it is unlikely Graham's record 16 consecutive years with the Speaker's gavel will be broken.