United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General Official Seal Department of Justice Incumbent Eric Holder since February 3, 2009 Formation September 26, 1789 First holder Edmund Randolph Succession Seventh Website www.usdoj.gov The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see 28 U.S.C. § 503) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The Attorney General is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government. The Attorney General serves as a member of the President's Cabinet, and is the only cabinet department head who is not given the title Secretary, besides the now independent Postmaster General. The Attorney General is nominated by the President of the United States and takes office after confirmation by the United States Senate. He or she serves at the pleasure of the President and can be removed by the President at any time; the Attorney General is also subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate for "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors." The office of Attorney General was established by Congress by the Judiciary Act of 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."1 Only in 1870 was the Department of Justice established to support the Attorney General in the discharge of his responsibilities. The current Attorney General, Eric Holder,2 was confirmed to office by the Senate on February 2, 2009, and sworn into office on February 3, 2009.3 Holder is the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and the first African-American to hold the position. Contents 1 List of Attorneys General 2 Living Former Attorneys General 3 See also 4 References 5 External links List of Attorneys General   Denotes service as acting Attorneys General prior to appointment or after resignation # Picture Name State of Residence Term of Office President(s) served under 1 Edmund Randolph Virginia September 26, 1789 January 26, 1794 George Washington 2 William Bradford Pennsylvania January 27, 1794 August 23, 1795 3 Charles Lee Virginia December 10, 1795 February 19, 1801 George Washington, John Adams 4 Levi Lincoln, Sr. Massachusetts March 5, 1801 March 2, 1805 Thomas Jefferson 5 John Breckinridge Kentucky August 7, 1805 December 14, 1806 6 Caesar A. Rodney Delaware January 20, 1807 December 10, 1811 Thomas Jefferson, James Madison 7 William Pinkney Maryland December 11, 1811 February 9, 1814 James Madison 8 Richard Rush Pennsylvania February 10, 1814 November 12, 1817 9 William Wirt Virginia November 13, 1817 March 4, 1829 James Monroe, John Quincy Adams 10 John M. Berrien Georgia March 9, 1829 July 19, 1831 Andrew Jackson 11 Roger B. Taney Maryland July 20, 1831 November 14, 1833 12 Benjamin Franklin Butler New York November 15, 1833 July 4, 1838 Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren 13 Felix Grundy Tennessee July 5, 1838 January 10, 1840 Martin Van Buren 14 Henry D. Gilpin Pennsylvania January 11, 1840 March 4, 1841 15 John J. Crittenden Kentucky March 5, 1841 September 12, 1841 William Harrison, John Tyler 16 Hugh Swinton Legaré South Carolina September 13, 1841 June 30, 1843 John Tyler 17 John Nelson Maryland July 1, 1843 March 4, 1845 18 John Y. Mason Virginia March 5, 1845 October 16, 1846 James Polk 19 Nathan Clifford Maine October 17, 1846 March 17, 1848 20 Isaac Toucey Connecticut June 21, 1848 March 4, 1849 21 Reverdy Johnson Maryland March 8, 1849 July 21, 1850 Zachary Taylor 22 John J. Crittenden Kentucky July 22, 1850 March 4, 1853 Millard Fillmore 23 Caleb Cushing Massachusetts March 7, 1853 March 4, 1857 Franklin Pierce 24 Jeremiah S. Black Pennsylvania March 6, 1857 December 16, 1860 James Buchanan 25 Edwin M. Stanton Ohio December 20, 1860 March 4, 1861 26 Edward Bates Missouri March 5, 1861 November 24, 1864 Abraham Lincoln 27 James Speed Kentucky December 2, 1864 July 22, 1866 Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson 28 Henry Stanberry Ohio July 23, 1866 July 16, 1868 Andrew Johnson 29 William M. Evarts New York July 17, 1868 March 4, 1869 30 Ebenezer R. Hoar Massachusetts March 5, 1869 November 22, 1870 Ulysses Grant 31 Amos T. Akerman Georgia November 23, 1870 December 13, 1871 32 George Henry Williams Oregon December 14, 1871 April 25, 1875 33 Edwards Pierrepont New York April 26, 1875 May 21, 1876 34 Alphonso Taft Ohio May 22, 1876 March 4, 1877 35 Charles Devens Massachusetts March 12, 1877 March 4, 1881 Rutherford Hayes 36 Wayne MacVeagh Pennsylvania March 5, 1881 December 15, 1881 James Garfield, Chester Arthur 37 Benjamin H. Brewster Pennsylvania December 16, 1881 March 4, 1885 Chester Arthur 38 Augustus H. Garland Arkansas March 6, 1885 March 4, 1889 Grover Cleveland 39 William Miller Indiana March 7, 1889 March 4, 1893 Benjamin Harrison 40 Richard Olney Massachusetts March 6, 1893 April 7, 1895 Grover Cleveland 41 Judson Harmon Ohio April 8, 1895 March 4, 1897 42 Joseph McKenna California March 5, 1897 January 25, 1898 William McKinley 43 John W. Griggs New Jersey January 25, 1898 March 29, 1901 44 Philander C. Knox Pennsylvania April 5, 1901 June 30, 1904 William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt 45 William H. Moody Massachusetts July 1, 1904 December 17, 1906 Theodore Roosevelt 46 Charles J. Bonaparte Maryland December 17, 1906 March 4, 1909 47 George W. Wickersham New York March 4, 1909 March 4, 1913 William Taft 48 James C. McReynolds New York March 5, 1913 August 29, 1914 Woodrow Wilson 49 Thomas Watt Gregory Texas August 29, 1914 March 4, 1919 50 Alexander Mitchell Palmer Pennsylvania March 5, 1919 March 4, 1921 51 Harry M. Daugherty Ohio March 4, 1921 April 6, 1924 Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge 52 Harlan F. Stone New York April 7, 1924 March 1, 1925 Calvin Coolidge 53 John G. Sargent Vermont March 7, 1925 March 4, 1929 54 William D. Mitchell Minnesota March 4, 1929 March 4, 1933 Herbert Hoover 55 Homer Stille Cummings Connecticut March 4, 1933 January 1, 1939 Franklin Roosevelt 56 Frank Murphy Michigan January 2, 1939 January 18, 1940 57 Robert H. Jackson New York January 18, 1940 August 25, 1941 58 Francis Biddle Pennsylvania August 26, 1941 June 26, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman 59 Tom C. Clark Texas June 27, 1945 July 26, 1949 Harry Truman 60 J. Howard McGrath Rhode Island July 27, 1949 April 3, 1952 61 James P. McGranery Pennsylvania April 4, 1952 January 20, 1953 62 Herbert Brownell, Jr. New York January 21, 1953 October 23, 1957 Dwight Eisenhower 63 William P. Rogers New York October 23, 1957 January 20, 1961 64 Robert F. Kennedy Massachusetts, New York January 20, 1961 September 3, 1964 John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson 65 Nicholas Katzenbach New Jersey September 4, 1964 (as acting AG) January 28, 1965 (as acting AG) Lyndon Johnson January 28, 1965 November 28, 1966 66 Ramsey Clark Texas November 28, 1966 (as acting AG) March 10, 1967 (as acting AG) March 10, 1967 January 20, 1969 67 John N. Mitchell New York January 20, 1969 February 15, 1972 Richard Nixon 68 Richard Kleindienst Arizona February 15, 1972 May 25, 1973 69 Elliot Richardson Massachusetts May 25, 1973 October 20, 1973 70 William B. Saxbe Ohio December 17, 1973 January 14, 1975 Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford 71 Edward H. Levi Illinois January 14, 1975 January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford 72 Griffin Bell Georgia January 26, 1977 August 16, 1979 Jimmy Carter 73 Benjamin Civiletti Maryland August 16, 1979 January 19, 1981 74 William French Smith California January 23, 1981 February 25, 1985 Ronald Reagan 75 Edwin Meese California February 25, 1985 August 12, 1988 76 Dick Thornburgh Pennsylvania August 12, 1988 August 15, 1991 Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush 77 William Barr New York August 16, 1991 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush 78 Janet Reno Florida March 12, 1993 January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton 79 John Ashcroft Missouri February 2, 2001 February 3, 2005 George W. Bush 80 Alberto Gonzales Texas February 3, 2005 September 17, 2007 81 Michael Mukasey New York November 9, 2007 January 20, 2009 82 Eric Holder Washington, D.C. February 3, 2009 present Barack Obama Living Former Attorneys General Nicholas Katzenbach Ramsey Clark Benjamin Civiletti Edwin Meese Dick Thornburgh William Barr Janet Reno John Ashcroft Alberto Gonzales Michael Mukasey See also Government of the United States portal Law portal Subpoena duces tecum Subpoena ad testificandum United States Solicitor General United States Deputy Attorney General United States Associate Attorney General United States Assistant Attorney General Living former members of the United States Cabinet References ^ Judiciary Act of 1789, section 35. ^ Staff (n.d.). "USDOJ: Office of the Attorney General". US Department of Justice. http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/. Retrieved 2009-02-03. "Eric H. Holder Jr. was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States on February 3, 2009 by Vice-President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Mr. Holder on December 1, 2008."  ^ Margasak, Larry (February 2, 2009). "Senate confirms Holder as first black AG". Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/holder_confirmation. Retrieved February 2, 2009. dead link External links The Attorneys General of the United States United States presidential line of succession Preceded by Secretary of Defense 7th in line Succeeded by Secretary of the Interior v · d · eUnited States Attorneys General Randolph • Bradford • Lee • Lincoln • Breckinridge • Rodney • Pinkney • Rush • Wirt • Berrien • Taney • Butler • Grundy • Gilpin • Crittenden • Legaré • Nelson • Mason • Clifford • Toucey • Johnson • Crittenden • Cushing • Black • Stanton • Bates • Speed • Stanbery • Evarts • Hoar • Akerman • Williams • Pierrepont • Taft • Devens • MacVeagh • Brewster • Garland • Miller • Olney • Harmon • McKenna • Griggs • Knox • Moody • Bonaparte • Wickersham • McReynolds • Gregory • Palmer • Daugherty • Stone • Sargent • W D Mitchell • Cummings • Murphy • Jackson • Biddle • T C Clark • McGrath • McGranery • Brownell • Rogers • Kennedy • Katzenbach • W R Clark • J N Mitchell • Kleindienst • Richardson • Saxbe • Levi • Bell • Civiletti • Smith • Meese • Thornburgh • Barr • Reno • Ashcroft • Gonzales • Mukasey • Holder v · d · eAgencies under the United States Department of Justice Headquarters: Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building Attorney General Deputy Attorney General Justice Management Division · Criminal Division · National Security Division · Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives · Drug Enforcement Administration · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Federal Bureau of Prisons · National Institute of Corrections · United States Marshals Service · Executive Office for Immigration Review · Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management · Office of the Federal Detention Trustee · Office of Intelligence Policy and Review · Office of the Pardon Attorney · Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties · Office of Professional Responsibility · Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes against Children · Office of Tribal Justice · Professional Responsibility Advisory Office · United States Attorneys  · United States Trustee Program · INTERPOL, U.S. National Central Bureau · National Drug Intelligence Center · United States Parole Commission · Office of Legal Counsel Associate Attorney General Office of Justice Programs · Office of Dispute Resolution · Office on Violence Against Women · Community Oriented Policing Services · Office of Information Policy · Foreign Claims Settlement Commission · Antitrust Division · Civil Division · Civil Rights Division · Environment and Natural Resources Division · Tax Division · Community Relations Service · Office of Legal Policy Assistant Attorney General Antitrust Division · Civil Division  · Civil Rights Division  · Criminal Division  · National Security Division  · Environmental and Natural Resources Division  · Justice Management Division  · Tax Division  · Office of Legal Counsel · Office of Legal Policy  · Office of Legislative Affairs Solicitor General v · d · eLeaders of the United States federal executive departments Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs Past department leaders: Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War