**Exhibit      31.1**

**CERTIFICATION      PURSUANT TO **

**SECTION      302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 **

| 1. | I                  have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Standard Management                  Corporation; |
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| 2. | Based                on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement                of a                material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make                the                statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements                were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this                report; |
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| 3. | Based                on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information                included in this report, fairly present in all material respects                the                financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the                small                business issuer as of, and for, the periods presented in this                report; |
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| 4. | The                small business issuer’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for                establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as                defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal                control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules                13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the small business issuer and                have:  |
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|   |   | a) | designed                such disclosure controls and procedures or caused such disclosure                controls                and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that                material information relating to the small business issuer, including                its                consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those                entities, particularly during the period in which this report is                being                prepared; |
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|   |   | b) | designed                such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal                control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision,                to                provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial                reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external                purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting                principles; |
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|   |   | c) | evaluated                the effectiveness of the small business issuer’s disclosure controls and                procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the                effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the                end of                the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
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|   |   | d) | disclosed                in this report any change in the small business issuer’s internal control                over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent                fiscal quarter (the small business issuer’s fourth fiscal quarter in the                case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably                likely to materially affect, the small business issuer’s internal control                over financial reporting; and |
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| 5. | The                small business issuer’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed,                based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial                reporting, to the small business issuer’s auditors and the audit committee                of small business issuer’s board of directors (or persons performing the                equivalent functions): |
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|   | a) | all                significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or                operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are                reasonably likely to adversely affect the small business issuer’s ability                to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
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|   | b) | any                fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other                employees who have a significant role in the small business issuer’s                internal control over financial reporting. |
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|                    /s/ Ronald D. Hunter                                                                                 |
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|                   Ronald D. Hunter                  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and                President |

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