United States Attorney General

Seal of the United States Department of Justice

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see ) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. They are considered the chief lawyer of the US government. The Attorney General is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. The Attorney General serves as a member of the President's Cabinet, the only member who is not given the title Secretary.

The current Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, was appointed in February 2005.

The office of Attorney General was established by Congress in 1789. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments." (Judiciary Act of 1789, section 35.) Only in 1870 was the Department of Justice established to support the Attorney General in the discharge of his responsibilities.

The members of the Department of Justice represent the United States in legal matters generally and offer advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive departments of the Government when so requested. The Attorney General appears in person to represent the Government before the Supreme Court in cases of exceptional importance. Under most circumstances the United States Solicitor General argues before the Supreme Court on the government's behalf.

Alberto Gonzales, current Attorney General of the United States.

List of Attorneys General

No.	Name	Began Service	Ended Service! President(s) served under
1	Edmund Randolph	September 26, 1789	January 26, 1794	George Washington
2	William Bradford	January 27, 1794	December 9, 1795	George Washington
3	Charles Lee	December 10, 1795	February 19, 1801	George Washington, John Adams
4	Levi Lincoln, Sr.	March 5, 1801	March 2, 1805	Thomas Jefferson
5	Robert Smith	March 3, 1805	August 6, 1805	Thomas Jefferson
6	John Breckinridge	August 7, 1805	December 14, 1806	Thomas Jefferson
7	Caesar A. Rodney	January 20, 1807	December 10, 1811	Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
8	William Pinkney	December 11, 1811	February 9, 1814	James Madison
9	Richard Rush	February 10, 1814	November 12, 1817	James Madison
10	William Wirt	November 13, 1817	March 4, 1829	James Monroe, John Quincy Adams
11	John M. Berrien	March 9, 1829	July 19, 1831	Andrew Jackson
12	Roger B. Taney	July 20, 1831	November 14, 1833	Andrew Jackson
13	Benjamin F. Butler	November 15, 1833	July 4, 1838	Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren
14	Felix Grundy	July 5, 1838	January 10, 1840	Martin Van Buren
15	Henry D. Gilpin	January 11, 1840	March 4, 1841	Martin Van Buren
16	John J. Crittenden	March 5, 1841	September 12, 1841	William Harrison, John Tyler
17	Hugh S. Legaré	September 13, 1841	June 30, 1843	John Tyler
18	John Nelson	July 1, 1843	March 4, 1845	John Tyler
19	John Y. Mason	March 5, 1845	October 16, 1846	James Polk
20	Nathan Clifford	October 17, 1846	March 17, 1848	James Polk
21	Isaac Toucey	June 21, 1848	March 4, 1849	James Polk
22	Reverdy Johnson	March 8, 1849	July 21, 1850	Zachary Taylor
23	John J. Crittenden	July 22, 1850	March 4, 1853	Millard Fillmore
24	Caleb Cushing	March 7, 1853	March 4, 1857	Franklin Pierce
25	Jeremiah S. Black	March 6, 1857	December, 1860	James Buchanan
26	Edwin M. Stanton	December 20, 1860	March 4, 1861	James Buchanan
27	Edward Bates	March 5, 1861	September 1864	Abraham Lincoln
28	James Speed	December 2, 1864	July 22, 1866	Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
29	Henry Stanbery	July 23, 1866	July 16, 1868	Andrew Johnson
30	William M. Evarts	July 17, 1868	March 4, 1869	Andrew Johnson
31	Ebenezer R. Hoar	March 5, 1869	November 22, 1870	Ulysses Grant
32	Amos T. Akerman	November 23, 1870	December 13, 1871	Ulysses Grant
33	George H. Williams	December 14, 1871	April 25, 1875	Ulysses Grant
34	Edwards Pierrepont	April 26, 1875	May 21, 1876	Ulysses Grant
35	Alphonso Taft	May 22, 1876	March 4, 1877	Ulysses Grant
36	Charles Devens	March 12, 1877	March 4, 1881	Rutherford Hayes
37	Wayne MacVeagh	March 5, 1881	December 15, 1881	James Garfield
38	Benjamin H. Brewster	December 16, 1881	March 4, 1885	Chester Arthur
39	Augustus Hill Garland	March 6, 1885	March 4, 1889	Grover Cleveland
40	William H.H. Miller	March 7, 1889	March 4, 1893	Benjamin Harrison
41	Richard Olney	March 6, 1893	April 7, 1895	Grover Cleveland
42	Judson Harmon	April 8, 1895	March 4, 1897	Grover Cleveland
43	Joseph McKenna	March 5, 1897	January 25, 1898	William McKinley
44	John W. Griggs	January 25, 1898	March 29, 1901	William McKinley
45	Philander C. Knox	April 5, 1901	June 30, 1904	William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
46	William H. Moody	July 1, 1904	December 17, 1906	Theodore Roosevelt
47	Charles Joseph Bonaparte	December 17, 1906	March 4, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt
48	George W. Wickersham	March 4, 1909	March 4, 1913	William Taft
49	James C. McReynolds	March 5, 1913	August 29, 1914	Woodrow Wilson
50	Thomas Watt Gregory	August 29, 1914	March 4, 1919	Woodrow Wilson
51	A. Mitchell Palmer	March 5, 1919	March 4, 1921	Woodrow Wilson
52	Harry M. Daugherty	March 4, 1921	April 6, 1924	Warren Harding
53	Harlan Fiske Stone	April 7, 1924	March 1, 1925	Calvin Coolidge
54	John G. Sargent	March 7, 1925	March 4, 1929	Calvin Coolidge
55	William D. Mitchell	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	Herbert Hoover
56	Homer S. Cummings	March 4, 1933	January 1, 1939	Franklin Roosevelt
57	Frank Murphy	January 2, 1939	January 18, 1940	Franklin Roosevelt
58	Robert H. Jackson	January 18, 1940	August 25, 1941	Franklin Roosevelt
59	Francis Biddle	August 26, 1941	June 26, 1945	Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman
60	Tom C. Clark	June 27, 1945	July 26, 1949	Harry Truman
61	J. Howard McGrath	July 27, 1949	April 3, 1952	Harry Truman
62	James P. McGranery	April 4, 1952	January 20, 1953	Harry Truman
63	Herbert Brownell, Jr.	January 21, 1953	October 23, 1957	Dwight Eisenhower
64	William P. Rogers	October 23, 1957	January 20, 1961	Dwight Eisenhower
65	Robert F. Kennedy	January 20, 1961	September 3, 1964	John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
66	Nicholas deB. Katzenbach	January 28, 1965	September 30, 1966	Lyndon Johnson
67	Ramsey Clark	March 10, 1967	January 20, 1969	Lyndon Johnson
68	John Mitchell	January 20, 1969	February 15, 1972	Richard Nixon
69	Richard G. Kleindienst	February 15, 1972	May 25, 1973	Richard Nixon
70	Elliot L. Richardson	May 25, 1973	October 20, 1973	Richard Nixon
71	William B. Saxbe	December 17, 1973	January 14, 1975	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
72	Edward H. Levi	January 14, 1975	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford
73	Griffin B. Bell	January 26, 1977	August 16, 1979	Jimmy Carter
74	Benjamin R. Civiletti	August 16, 1979	January 19, 1981	Jimmy Carter
75	William French Smith	January 23, 1981	February 25, 1985	Ronald Reagan
76	Edwin Meese III	February 25, 1985	August 12, 1988	Ronald Reagan
77	Richard L. Thornburgh	August 12, 1988	August 15, 1991	Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush
78	William Barr	November 26, 1991	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
79	Janet Reno	March 12, 1993	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
80	John Ashcroft	February 2, 2001	February 3, 2005	George W. Bush
81	Alberto Gonzales	February 3, 2005	Incumbent	George W. Bush

See also

*United States Deputy Attorney General
*United States Solicitor General
*United States Assistant Attorney General
*California State Attorney General (and links to others): Bill Lockyer

External links

* Biographies of the Attorneys General