Attorney General of Delaware

Last updated
Attorney General of Delaware
Seal of the Attorney General of Delaware.jpg
Kathy Jennings CFPB.png
Incumbent
Kathy Jennings
since January 1, 2019
Residence Wilmington, Delaware
Term length Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder Gunning Bedford Jr.
February 1, 1783
Website Delaware Department of Justice - Attorney General Office

The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general of Delaware. [1]

Contents

Description of the office

The attorney general elected to a four-year term in the "off-year" state election, two years before/after the election of the governor. Along with the state treasurer, state auditor, and state insurance commissioner, the office is intended to serve as a restraint to the governor's exclusive executive authority. The office existed in various forms prior to the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1776, which continued the existing colonial tradition of granting the governor the power to appoint the attorney general for a five-year tenure. With the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, the post was converted to its present four-year elected form, also establishing the attorney general as third in line of succession to the office of governor, after the lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Officeholders

Gunning Bedford Jr. was the first holder of the office after American independence. The office was held from 2007-2015 by Beau Biden, who was elected in 2006 and took office on January 2, 2007. He was a Democrat and the eldest son of the current U.S. President and the longest serving U.S. Senator from Delaware Joe Biden.

#ImageNameTerm of officePolitical Party
1 Gunning bedford jr.jpg Gunning Bedford Jr. 17781790
2 Nicholas Ridgely 17901801
3 NicholasVanDyke (cropped).png Nicholas Van Dyke 18011806Federalist
4 Outerbridge Horsey 18061810Federalist
5 Thomas Clayton US.jpg Thomas Clayton 18101815Federalist
6 James Rogers 18151830
7 Robert Frame 18301835
8 James Rogers 18351840
9 Edward W. Gilpin 18401850
10 Willard Saulsbury, Sr. - Brady-Handy.jpg Willard Saulsbury, Sr. 18501855Democratic
11 Hon. George P. Fisher, Del - NARA - 526255.jpg George P. Fisher 18551860Unionist
12 Alfred Wooten 18601864
13 Jacob Moore 18641869Republican
14 Charles B. Lore (Delaware Congressman).jpg Charles B. Lore 18691874Democratic
15 John B. Penington (Delaware Congressman).jpg John B. Penington 18741879Democratic
16 Senator-elect George Gray - Leslie.png George Gray 18791885Democratic
17John Henry Paynter [2] 18851887
18 John Biggs 18871892
19 John R. Nicholson 18921895
20 Robert C. White 18951901
21 Herbert H. Ward 19011905
22 Robert H. Richards 19051909
23 Andrew C. Gray 19091913
24 WOLCOTT, J., SENATOR LCCN2016860177 (cropped).jpg Josiah O. Wolcott 19131917Democratic
25 David J. Reinhardt 19171921
26 Sylvester D. Townsend Jr. 19211925
27 Clarence A. Southerland 19251929Republican[ citation needed ]
28 Reuben Satterthwaite Jr. 19291933
29 Daniel J. Layton 1933Republican
30 P. Warren Green 19331939
31 James R. Morford 19391943
32 Clair J. Killoran 19431947
33 Albert W. James 19471951
34 H. Albert Young 19511955
35 Joseph D. Craven 19551959Democratic
36 Januar D. Bove Jr. 19591963Republican
37 David Buckson (1969).png David P. Buckson 19631971Republican
38 W. Laird Stabler Jr. 19711975Republican
39 Richard R. Wier Jr. 19751979Republican
40 RSGebelein1.jpg Richard S. Gebelein 19791983Democratic
41 Charles Oberly US Attorney.JPG Charles Oberly 19831995Democratic
42 M. Jane Brady 19952005Republican
43 Brigadier General Carl C. Danberg.jpg Carl C. Danberg 20052007Democratic
44 BeauBiden-DOJ2013 (cropped).jpg Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, III 20072015Democratic
45 DennM (cropped).JPG Matthew Denn 20152019Democratic
46 Kathy Jennings AG (cropped).png Kathy Jennings 2019presentDemocratic

See also

Sources

  1. "Jennings, McGuiness, Davis sworn in to new elected positions". WDEL 101.7 FM. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. "DelMar History: JUDGE JOHN HENRY PAYNTER OF SUSSEX DELAWARE". 15 April 2017.

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References