United States Attorney General
Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : United States Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales, current Attorney General of the United States.
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see #redirect ) 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.
List of Attorneys General
| Name
| Began Service
| Ended Service
| President(s) served under
|
| Edmund Randolph
| September 26, 1789
| January 26, 1794
| George Washington
|
| William Bradford
| January 27, 1794
| December 9, 1795
| George Washington
|
| Charles Lee
| December 10, 1795
| February 19, 1801
| George Washington, John Adams
|
| Levi Lincoln, Sr.
| March 5, 1801
| March 2, 1805
| Thomas Jefferson
|
| Robert Smith
| March 3, 1805
| August 6, 1805
| Thomas Jefferson
|
| John Breckinridge
| August 7, 1805
| December 14, 1806
| Thomas Jefferson
|
| Caesar A. Rodney
| January 20, 1807
| December 10, 1811
| Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
|
| William Pinkney
| December 11, 1811
| February 9, 1814
| James Madison
|
| Richard Rush
| February 10, 1814
| November 12, 1817
| James Madison
|
| William Wirt
| November 13, 1817
| March 4, 1829
| James Monroe, John Quincy Adams
|
| John M. Berrien
| March 9, 1829
| July 19, 1831
| Andrew Jackson
|
| Roger B. Taney
| July 20, 1831
| November 14, 1833
| Andrew Jackson
|
| Benjamin F. Butler
| November 15, 1833
| July 4, 1838
| Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren
|
| Felix Grundy
| July 5, 1838
| January 10, 1840
| Martin Van Buren
|
| Henry D. Gilpin
| January 11, 1840
| March 4, 1841
| Martin Van Buren
|
| John J. Crittenden
| March 5, 1841
| September 12, 1841
| William Harrison, John Tyler
|
| Hugh S. Legaré
| September 13, 1841
| June 30, 1843
| John Tyler
|
| John Nelson
| July 1, 1843
| March 4, 1845
| John Tyler
|
| John Y. Mason
| March 5, 1845
| October 16, 1846
| James Polk
|
| Nathan Clifford
| October 17, 1846
| March 17, 1848
| James Polk
|
| Isaac Toucey
| June 21, 1848
| March 4, 1849
| James Polk
|
| Reverdy Johnson
| March 8, 1849
| July 21, 1850
| Zachary Taylor
|
| John J. Crittenden
| July 22, 1850
| March 4, 1853
| Millard Fillmore
|
| Caleb Cushing
| March 7, 1853
| March 4, 1857
| Franklin Pierce
|
| Jeremiah S. Black
| March 6, 1857
| December, 1860
| James Buchanan
|
| Edwin M. Stanton
| December 20, 1860
| March 4, 1861
| James Buchanan
|
| Edward Bates
| March 5, 1861
| September 1864
| Abraham Lincoln
|
| James Speed
| December 2, 1864
| July 22, 1866
| Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
|
| Henry Stanbery
| July 23, 1866
| July 16, 1868
| Andrew Johnson
|
| William M. Evarts
| July 17, 1868
| March 4, 1869
| Andrew Johnson
|
| Ebenezer R. Hoar
| March 5, 1869
| November 22, 1870
| Ulysses Grant
|
| Amos T. Akerman
| November 23, 1870
| December 13, 1871
| Ulysses Grant
|
| George H. Williams
| December 14, 1871
| April 25, 1875
| Ulysses Grant
|
| Edwards Pierrepont
| April 26, 1875
| May 21, 1876
| Ulysses Grant
|
| Alphonso Taft
| May 22, 1876
| March 4, 1877
| Ulysses Grant
|
| Charles Devens
| March 12, 1877
| March 4, 1881
| Rutherford Hayes
|
| Wayne MacVeagh
| March 5, 1881
| December 15, 1881
| James Garfield
|
| Benjamin H. Brewster
| December 16, 1881
| March 4, 1885
| Chester Arthur
|
| Augustus Hill Garland
| March 6, 1885
| March 4, 1889
| Grover Cleveland
|
| William H.H. Miller
| March 7, 1889
| March 4, 1893
| Benjamin Harrison
|
| Richard Olney
| March 6, 1893
| April 7, 1895
| Grover Cleveland
|
| Judson Harmon
| April 8, 1895
| March 4, 1897
| Grover Cleveland
|
| Joseph McKenna
| March 5, 1897
| January 25, 1898
| William McKinley
|
| John W. Griggs
| January 25, 1898
| March 29, 1901
| William McKinley
|
| Philander C. Knox
| April 5, 1901
| June 30, 1904
| William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
|
| William H. Moody
| July 1, 1904
| December 17, 1906
| Theodore Roosevelt
|
| Charles Joseph Bonaparte
| December 17, 1906
| March 4, 1909
| Theodore Roosevelt
|
| George W. Wickersham
| March 4, 1909
| March 4, 1913
| William Taft
|
| James C. McReynolds
| March 5, 1913
| August 29, 1914
| Woodrow Wilson
|
| Thomas Watt Gregory
| August 29, 1914
| March 4, 1919
| Woodrow Wilson
|
| A. Mitchell Palmer
| March 5, 1919
| March 4, 1921
| Woodrow Wilson
|
| Harry M. Daugherty
| March 4, 1921
| April 6, 1924
| Warren Harding
|
| Harlan Fiske Stone
| April 7, 1924
| March 1, 1925
| Calvin Coolidge
|
| John G. Sargent
| March 7, 1925
| March 4, 1929
| Calvin Coolidge
|
| William D. Mitchell
| March 4, 1929
| March 4, 1933
| Herbert Hoover
|
| Homer S. Cummings
| March 4, 1933
| January 1, 1939
| Franklin Roosevelt
|
| Frank Murphy
| January 2, 1939
| January 18, 1940
| Franklin Roosevelt
|
| Robert H. Jackson
| January 18, 1940
| August 25, 1941
| Franklin Roosevelt
|
| Francis Biddle
| August 26, 1941
| June 26, 1945
| Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman
|
| Tom C. Clark
| June 27, 1945
| July 26, 1949
| Harry Truman
|
| J. Howard McGrath
| July 27, 1949
| April 3, 1952
| Harry Truman
|
| James P. McGranery
| April 4, 1952
| January 20, 1953
| Harry Truman
|
| Herbert Brownell, Jr.
| January 21, 1953
| October 23, 1957
| Dwight Eisenhower
|
| William P. Rogers
| October 23, 1957
| January 20, 1961
| Dwight Eisenhower
|
| Robert F. Kennedy
| January 20, 1961
| September 3, 1964
| John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
|
| Nicholas deB. Katzenbach
| January 28, 1965
| September 30, 1966
| Lyndon Johnson
|
| Ramsey Clark
| March 10, 1967
| January 20, 1969
| Lyndon Johnson
|
| John Mitchell
| January 20, 1969
| February 15, 1972
| Richard Nixon
|
| Richard G. Kleindienst
| February 15, 1972
| May 25, 1973
| Richard Nixon
|
| Elliot L. Richardson
| May 25, 1973
| October 20, 1973
| Richard Nixon
|
| William B. Saxbe
| December 17, 1973
| January 14, 1975
| Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
|
| Edward H. Levi
| January 14, 1975
| January 20, 1977
| Gerald Ford
|
| Griffin B. Bell
| January 26, 1977
| August 16, 1979
| Jimmy Carter
|
| Benjamin R. Civiletti
| August 16, 1979
| January 19, 1981
| Jimmy Carter
|
| William French Smith
| January 23, 1981
| February 25, 1985
| Ronald Reagan
|
| Edwin Meese III
| February 25, 1985
| August 12, 1988
| Ronald Reagan
|
| Richard L. Thornburgh
| August 12, 1988
| August 15, 1991
| Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush
|
| William Barr
| November 26, 1991
| January 20, 1993
| George H. W. Bush
|
| Janet Reno
| March 12, 1993
| January 20, 2001
| Bill Clinton
|
| John Ashcroft
| February 2, 2001
| February 3, 2005
| George W. Bush
|
| Alberto Gonzales
| February 3, 2005
| Incumbent
| George W. Bush
|
See also
External links
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