Peter Julian Ryan (born 30 October 1950) is a former Australian politician who was leader of The Nationals in Victoria from 1999 to 2014. He represented the electoral district of Gippsland South from 1992 to 2015, and from 2010 to 2014 was the Deputy Premier of Victoria as well as the Minister for Rural and Regional Development. In addition, Ryan was the Minister for Police from 2010 to 2013. Early years Ryan was born and raised in Lockington, Victoria. He was educated in Shepparton where he graduated from high school in 1968. He went on to study Law at RMIT. Ryan moved to Sale during 1974 to work for a local law firm Warren, Graham and Murphy. He became partner in 1976 and managing partner in 1989. Political career After an 18-year career in the law, Ryan was preselected as the National Party's candidate for Gippsland South in 1991 and elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Gippsland South in 1992, replacing Tom Wallace. Ryan was a member of several parliamentary committees between 1992 and 1999. Rural discontent led to a shock defeat for the Kennett Government in 1999, with large swings in rural and regional Victoria to the Labor Party delivering a minority Labor Government with support from three independents. Kennett left the parliament shortly after the election, and The Nationals leader Pat McNamara resigned as leader in December 1999. Ryan was elected as leader unopposed. One of his first acts as leader was to tear up the Coalition agreement and move the Nationals to the crossbenches as a separate party. The Liberals and Nationals have historically had a strained relationship in Victoria; while they are Coalition at the federal level, they sat separately for most of the second half of the 20th century in Victoria until renewing the Coalition at state level in 1990. In February 2008 Ryan announced at a joint news conference with Baillieu that the Victorian Nationals and Liberals would join in a new coalition agreement. As part of the arrangement, Baillieu allocated five posts in his shadow cabinet to Nationals. Both parties agreed to hold joint party meetings, develop joint policies, abolish three-cornered contests (in all but very exceptional circumstances) and run joint Upper House tickets in the non-metropolitan Regions. Ryan became the Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Development and the Shadow Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade. Following the summer