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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.
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
*
United States Deputy Attorney General *
United States Solicitor General *
United States Assistant Attorney General *California State Attorney General (and links to others):
Bill Lockyer *
Biographies of the Attorneys General
