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Attorney General of Virginia
Seal of the attorney general of Virginia
Incumbent Jason Miyares since January 15, 2022
Style	The Honorable
Type	Elected constitutional position
Term length	Four years
Formation	1776
First holder	Edmund Randolph
Website	www.oag.state.va.us

The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as attorney general.

History

In the Colony of Virginia, attorneys general were typically appointed by the king of England, with vacancies in the office filled by the appointment of the colonial governor or lieutenant governor, sometimes in consultation with the governor's council. The Virginia Constitution of 1851 provided for the popular election of the attorney general.

Mary Sue Terry, sworn in in 1986, was Virginia's first female attorney general. Jason Miyares, sworn in on January 15, 2022, is the state's first Latino attorney general.

Qualifications

The position of attorney general is established by Article V, Section 15 of the Constitution of Virginia, and they are elected for four years and serve concurrently with the governor. All candidates for attorney general must be at least thirty years old, a citizen of the United States, and have the same qualifications required of a Virginia Circuit Court judge.

Responsibilities

The attorney general represents the legal interests of the people of Virginia and agencies and boards of the state's government. By law, the attorney general must represent the state and its constituent agencies unless it is impractical to do so, in which case private legal representation may be contracted to serve in their place. They are responsible for aiding investigative activities into certain criminal activities, enforcing certain laws, and providing official advice on questions of law to members of the Virginia General Assembly and other state officials. The attorney general can be impeached and removed from office by the Virginia General Assembly.

The office of attorney general is led by the attorney general. Under them serve a chief deputy attorney general, four deputy attorneys general, and various other legal and support staff.

List of attorneys general

Attorneys general of colonial Virginia

Records of this period are sparse. The attorney general was appointed by the King, a combination of the governor and council, or the governor or acting governor. There was no term of office, and the office may have been vacant for extended periods.

Attorneys general (1776–1857)

From 1776 to 1851, the attorney general was elected by the General Assembly, or, in case of vacancy, appointed by the governor for an undefined term. The Virginia Constitution of 1851 introduced popular election and four-year terms. After the 1851 constitution, vacancies would be filled by the General Assembly, if they were in session, or by the governor.

Image	Name	Term	Party	Notes
	Edmund Randolph	early July 1776 – November 30, 1786		Elected by convention
	James Innes	November 30, 1786 – November 13, 1796		Resigned
	John Marshall	mid-October 1794 – late March 1795		Acting
	Robert Brooke	mid-November 1796 – February 27, 1800	Democratic-Republican	Died in office
	Philip Norborne Nicholas	March 15, 1800 – January 7, 1819	Democratic-Republican	Appointed by Governor James Monroe, elected by General Assembly, resigned
	John Robertson	January 21, 1819 – mid-October 1834	Democratic	Resigned
	Sidney Smith Baxter	December 11, 1834 – January 1, 1852	Democratic
	Willis Perry Bocock	January 1, 1852 – May 15, 1857	Democratic	Resigned

Attorneys general during the Civil War and Reconstruction

Tucker served as the attorney general of Confederate Virginia throughout the Civil War. Wheat and Bowden served as the attorneys general for Restored Government of Virginia. From 1865 to 1870, the commanding general of the military district of Virginia appointed the office.

Image	Name	Term	Party	Notes
	John Randolph Tucker	June 13, 1857 – May 9, 1865	Democratic	Confederate attorney general throughout war. Left office when government abandoned Richmond.
	James S. Wheat	June 21, 1861 – December 7, 1863	Republican	Elected at the Wheeling Convention and then in a May 1862 election for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling.
	Thomas Russell Bowden	December 7, 1863 – August 1, 1869	Union	Attorney general for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling, then Alexandria, after West Virginia separated, and in post-war Reconstruction Virginia.
	Charles Whittlesey	September 10, 1869 – January 19, 1870	Republican	Appointed and removed by Brigadier General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
	James Craig Taylor	January 19, 1870 – January 1, 1874	Conservative Party of Virginia	Appointed by Brigadier General Canby after winning election (moving forward swearing-in date)

Attorneys general (1874–present)

Image	Name	Term	Party	Notes
	Raleigh Travers Daniel	January 1, 1874 – August 16, 1877	Conservative Party of Virginia	Died in office
	James Gavin Field	August 29, 1877 – January 1, 1882	Conservative Party of Virginia	Appointed and then elected
	Francis Simpson Blair	January 1, 1882 – January 1, 1886	Readjuster Party
	Rufus A. Ayers	January 1, 1886 – January 1, 1890	Democratic
	R. Taylor Scott	January 1, 1890 – August 5, 1897	Democratic	Died in office
	Richard Carter Scott	August 11, 1897 – January 1, 1898	Democratic	appointed by Governor Charles T. O'Ferrall
	Andrew Jackson Montague	January 1, 1898 – January 1, 1902	Democratic	Became governor January 1, 1902
	William Alexander Anderson	January 1, 1902 – February 1, 1910	Democratic
	Samuel Walker Williams	February 1, 1910 – February 2, 1914	Democratic
	John Garland Pollard	February 2, 1914 – January 5, 1918	Democratic	Resigned.
	Josiah D. Hank Jr.	January 5, 1918 - February 1, 1918	Democratic	Appointed by Governor Henry C. Stuart
	John R. Saunders	February 1, 1918 – March 17, 1934	Democratic	Died in office
	Abram Penn Staples	March 22, 1934 – October 6, 1947	Democratic	Resigned to become judge of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
	Harvey Black Apperson	October 7, 1947 – February 2, 1948	Democratic	Appointed by Governor; Died in office
	J. Lindsay Almond	February 11, 1948 – September 16, 1957	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
	Kenneth Cartwright Patty	September 1957 – January 1958	Democratic	Appointed by Governor
	Albertis Sydney Harrison	January 1958 – April 1961	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
	Frederick Thomas Gray	May 1961 – January 1962	Democratic	Appointed by Governor
	Robert Young Button	January 1962 – January 1970	Democratic
	Andrew Pickens Miller	January 1970 – January 1977	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
	Anthony Francis Troy	January 1977 – January 1978	Democratic
	J. Marshall Coleman	January 14, 1978 – January 16, 1982	Republican
	Gerald Baliles	January 16, 1982 – June 30, 1985	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
	William Broaddus	July 1, 1985 – January 11, 1986	Democratic
	Mary Sue Terry	January 11, 1986 – January 28, 1993	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
	Stephen D. Rosenthal	January 29, 1993 – January 15, 1994	Democratic
	Jim Gilmore	January 15, 1994 – June 11, 1997	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
	Richard Cullen	June 11, 1997 – January 17, 1998	Republican
	Mark Earley	January 17, 1998 – June 4, 2001	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
	Randolph A. Beales	July 11, 2001 – January 12, 2002	Republican
	Jerry Kilgore	January 12, 2002 – February 1, 2005	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
	Judith Jagdmann	February 1, 2005 – January 14, 2006	Republican
	Bob McDonnell	January 14, 2006 – February 20, 2009	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
	Bill Mims	February 20, 2009 – January 16, 2010	Republican
	Ken Cuccinelli	January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014	Republican
	Mark Herring	January 11, 2014 – January 15, 2022	Democratic
	Jason Miyares	January 15, 2022 – present	Republican	First attorney general of Hispanic and Cuban descent.

References

1. "Constitutional and Statutory Provisions For Number of Consecutive Terms of Elected State Officials", National Governors Association. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
2. ^ "Attorneys General of Virginia". Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
3. Dinan 2014, pp. 113, 139.
4. Elsman, Dale (January 12, 1986). "Baliles, Wilder, Ms. Terry sworn in, say state 'leading the nation again'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. 1, 12.
5. Mirshahi, Dean (January 15, 2022). "Jason Miyares, sworn in as attorney general, makes history as first Latino to hold statewide office in Virginia". ABC8News. Nexstar Media. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
6. "Constitution of Virginia". Virginia's Legislative Information System. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
7. ^ "About the Office". Attorney General of Virginia. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
8. Dinan 2014, p. 138.
9. Evans, Emory g. "Robert Beverley (bap. 1635–1687)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
10. Tate, Thad W. "Edward Chilton (1658–1707)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
11. Tarter, Brent. "John Clayton (ca. 1666–1737)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
12. Tarter, Brent. "Raleigh Travers Daniel (1805–1877)". Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
13. Tarter, Brent. "Francis Simpson Blair (1839–1899)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
14. Bugg, J. L. "Robert Young Button (1899–1977)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved July 15, 2015.

Works cited

• Dinan, John J. (2014). The Virginia State Constitution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199355723.

External links

• Virginia Attorney General official website
• Code of Virginia at Law.Justia.com
• Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring profile at National Association of Attorneys General
• Press releases at Virginia Attorney General

v t e Attorneys general of Virginia
Randolph Innes Marshall Brooke Nicholas Robertson Baxter Bocock Tucker Wheat (disputed) Bowden Whittlesey Taylor Daniel Field Blair Ayers R. T. Scott R. C. Scott Montague Anderson Williams Pollard Hank Saunders Staples Apperson Almond Patty Harrison Gray Button Miller Troy Coleman Baliles Broaddus Terry Rosenthal Gilmore Cullen Earley Beales Kilgore Jagdmann McDonnell Mims Cuccinelli Herring Miyares

v t e Virginia statewide elected officials
Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General

• Virginia attorneys general
• Virginia law-related lists