Massachusetts Attorney General

Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Seal of Massachusetts
Incumbent Maura Healey since January 21, 2015
Style	Her Honor
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Paul Dudley
Formation	1702
Website	www.mass.gov/ago/

The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder also acts as an advocate and resource for the Commonwealth and its residents in many areas, including consumer protection, combating fraud and corruption, protecting civil rights, and promoting meaningful economic recovery. The current Attorney General is Maura Healey.

History

When the state constitution was first enacted, the Attorney General was appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Governor's Council. The office was abolished in 1843 and re-established in 1849. In 1855 the constitution was amended so that the Attorney General (along with a number of other constitutionally enumerated offices) was elected by the people. The length of the term of office has matched that of the governor, and elections are held concurrently with those for other constitutional office. Elections were first held annually, became biennial (every two years) in 1920, and quadrennial (every four years) in 1966.

Organization

The Office of the Attorney General is organized into five Bureaus: Executive; Business and Labor; Criminal; Government; and Public Protection and Advocacy. Each bureau is divided into divisions and teams. These Bureaus and Divisions have distinct missions, but work closely together to ensure the Attorney General’s Office provides the highest level of public protection.

List of Attorneys General

No.	Attorney General		Term	Party
1	Paul Dudley		July 1702 – November 1718
2	John Valentine		November 1718 – June 1720
3	Thomas Newton		June 1720 – May 1721
Vacant	Vacant		May 1721 – June 1722
4	John Overing		June 1722 – June 1723
5	Vacant		June 1723 – June 1725
6	John Read		June 1725 – June 1728
7	Joseph Hiller		June 1728 – June 1729
8	John Overing		June 1729 – June 1749
9	Edmund Trowbridge		June 1749 – March 1767
10	Jeremiah Gridley		March 1767 – September 1767
11	Vacant		September 1767 – November 1767
12	Jonathan Sewall		November 1767 – September 1774
13	Vacant		September 1774 – June 1777
14	Robert Treat Paine		June 19, 1778–1790
15	James Sullivan		1790–1807	Democratic-Republican
16	Barnabas Bidwell		June 15, 1807 – August 30, 1810	Democratic-Republican
17	Perez Morton		1810–1832	Democratic-Republican
18	James T. Austin		1832–1843	National Republican Party
Vacant			Office Abolished from 1843 to 1849.
19	John H. Clifford		1849–1853	Whig
20	Rufus Choate		1853 – May 12, 1854	Whig
21	John H. Clifford		1854–1858	Whig
22	Stephen Henry Phillips		1858–1861	Republican
23	Dwight Foster		1861–1864	Republican
24	Chester I. Reed		1864 – April 20, 1867	Republican
25	Charles Allen		1867–1872
26	Charles R. Train		1872–1879	Republican
27	George Marston		1879–1883	Republican
28	Edgar J. Sherman		1883 – October 1, 1887	Republican
29	Andrew J. Waterman		1887–1891	Republican
30	Albert E. Pillsbury		1891–1894	Republican
31	Hosea M. Knowlton		1894–1902	Republican
32	Herbert Parker		1902–1906	Republican
33	Dana Malone		1906–1911	Republican
34	James M. Swift		1911–1914	Republican
35	Thomas J. Boynton		1914–1915	Democratic
36	Henry Converse Atwill		1915–1919	Republican
Acting	Henry A. Wyman		1919–1920	Republican
37	J. Weston Allen		1920–1923	Republican
38	Jay R. Benton		1923–1927	Republican
39	Arthur K. Reading	50px	1927 – June 6, 1928	Republican
40	Joseph E. Warner		1928–1935	Republican
41	Paul A. Dever		1935–1941	Democratic
42	Robert T. Bushnell		1941–1945	Republican
43	Clarence A. Barnes		1945–1949	Republican
44	Francis E. Kelly		1949–1953	Democratic
45	George Fingold		1953 – August 31, 1958	Republican
46	Edward J. McCormack, Jr.		September 11, 1958 – January 1963	Democratic
47	Edward Brooke		January 1963–January 2, 1967	Republican
Interim	Edward T. Martin		January 2, 1967 – January 18, 1967	Republican
48	Elliot Richardson		January 18, 1967 – January 1969	Republican
49	Robert H. Quinn		January 1969 – January 1975	Democratic
50	Francis X. Bellotti		January 1975 – January 1987	Democratic
51	James Shannon	50px	January 1987 – January 1991	Democratic
52	L. Scott Harshbarger		January 1991 – January 1999	Democratic
53	Thomas Reilly		January 1999 – January 2007	Democratic
54	Martha Coakley		January 2007 – January 2015	Democratic
55	Maura Healey		January 2015 – Present	Democratic

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

• Source: http://www.mass.gov/ago
• Source: http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/attygn.html

External links

• Massachusetts Attorney General official website
• Massachusetts Attorney General articles at Legal Newsline Legal Journal
• Massachusetts Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
• News and Commentary at FindLaw
• Massachusetts General Laws at Law.Justia.com
• U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Massachusetts" at FindLaw
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey profile at National Association of Attorneys General
• Press releases at Massachusetts Attorney General