Virginia Attorney General
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, became 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
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.| Name | Term | Notes |
| Richard Lee | October 12, 1643 – c. 1651 | Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council |
| 1652–1660 | Office apparently vacant during the Interregnum | |
| Peter Jenings | Before June 25, 1670 – c. October 12, 1670 | Reappointed by Charles II of England on September 15, 1670 |
| George Jordan | October 12, 1670 – at least October 3, 1672 | Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council |
| Robert Beverley | March 10, 1676 | Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council |
| George Jordan | Acting on May 20, 1677 | |
| William Sherwood | Early March 1677 – at least until November 25, 1678 | |
| Edward Hill | appointed by Deputy Governor Henry Chicheley on September 27, 1679. | |
| Edmund Jenings | 1680 – before November 16, 1686 | |
| George Brent | Before November 16, 1686 – before May 1, 1688 | Acting |
| Edmund Jenings | c. May 1, 1688 – June 10, 1691 | |
| Edward Chilton | October 20, 1691 – April 1694 | Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned. |
| William Randolph | April 1694 – October 29, 1698 | Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned. |
| Bartholomew Fowler | October 29, 1698 – September 4, 1700 | Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned. |
| Benjamin Harrison III | October 17, 1700 – c. 1702 | Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson and Council. |
| Stevens Thomson | March 2, 1704 – February 1714 | Privy Council approved appointment July 30, 1703. Died in office. |
| John Clayton | 1714 – November 18, 1737 | Appointed by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, given leave to England |
| John Randolph | April 22, 1726 – late 1727 or early 1728 | Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch in Clayton's absence |
| John Clayton | late 1727 or early 1728 – November 18, 1737 | Reappointed by royal warrant after February 29, 1728. Died in office |
| Edward Barradall | Acting between November 17 and 25, 1737 – June 19, 1743 | Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch, followed by warrant March 7, 1738, died in office |
| Thomas Nelson | Between June 19 and 27, 1743 – summer 1744 | Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch |
| Peyton Randolph | May 7, 1744 – sometime before January 29, 1754 | Office declared forfeit on June 20, 1754 |
| Peyton Randolph | May 13, 1755 – sometime soon after November 22, 1766 | Resigned |
| George Wythe | c. January 29, 1754 – between January 20 and February 10, 1755 | Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie |
| George Wythe | c. after November 22, 1766 – between June 4 and 11, 1767 | Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier |
| John Randolph | Between June 4 and 11, 1767 – early September 1775 | Fled Virginia in September 1775 |
Virginia (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 |
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 |