Attorney General of Washington
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Short description|Chief legal officer of Washington state}}
{{distinguish|Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Attorney General
| body = Washington
| insignia =
| insigniasize = 150
| insigniacaption = Seal of the attorney general
| image = Nicholas W. Brown, U.S. Attorney official (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = Nick Brown
| incumbentsince = January 15, 2025
| department = Office of the Attorney General
| style = The Honorable
| termlength = Four years
| termlength_qualified = No limit
| constituting_instrument = Washington State Constitution
| formation = 1887
}}
The attorney general of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest in accordance to state law. The office of the attorney general is an executive office elected by the citizens of Washington, and the officeholder serves a four-year term.{{Cite web |title=Office Information |url=https://www.atg.wa.gov/office-information |publisher=Washington State Office of the Attorney General |access-date=May 7, 2020}}
Authority
The powers and responsibilities of the Washington attorney general derive from the Washington State Constitution (Const. art. III, § 1){{Cite web |title=Code Reviser Washington State Constitution |url=http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Pages/WAConstitution.aspx |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=May 7, 2020}} and the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 43.10).{{Cite web |title=Chapter 43.10: Attorney General |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.10 |work=Revised Code of Washington |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=May 7, 2020}}
List of attorneys general of Washington
{{anchor|List}}
The following is a list of individuals who have served as attorney general of the U.S. state of Washington.{{cite web|url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?ID=3686 |title=Historical Highlights: Office of the Washington State Attorney General |last=Bowers |first=Todd |author2=Scott, Drew |author3=Scharber, Maureen |year=2006 |publisher=Office of the Washington State Attorney General |access-date=2009-05-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425145718/http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?ID=3686 |archive-date=2009-04-25 }}{{Cite book|title=Washington State Yearbook: The Evergreen State Government Directory|publisher=Washington Roll Call|year=2017|location=Olympia, WA}} The attorney general is fifth (behind the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Washington.{{cite web|url=http://leg.wa.gov/LawsAndAgencyRules/Pages/constitution.aspx|title=Washington State Constitution|work=Washington State Legislature|access-date=August 23, 2019}}
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting attorney general or time served as acting attorney general|border=black}}
| class=wikitable | |
| #
! Image ! Attorney General ! colspan="2" | Term of office !Political party | |
|---|---|
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1 | 60px | nowrap | James B. Metcalfe | 1887 | 1889 |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2 | 60px | nowrap | William C. Jones | 1889 | 1897 | |
| {{Party shading/Populist}}
| 3 | | nowrap | Patrick Henry Winston Jr. | 1897 | 1901 |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 4 | | nowrap | Wickliffe Stratton | 1901 | 1905
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 5 | | nowrap | John Atkinson | 1905 | 1909
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 6 | | nowrap | Walter Bell | 1909 | 1911
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| rowspan="2" | 7 | rowspan="2" | | rowspan="2" | William V. Tanner | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1911 | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1912 | rowspan="2" |Republican | |
| 1912 | 1919 |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| rowspan="2"| 8 | rowspan="2"| | rowspan="2"| L.L. Thompson | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1919 | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1920 | rowspan="2" |Republican | |
| 1920 | 1923 |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| rowspan="2"| 9 | rowspan="2"| | rowspan="2"| John Dunbar | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1923 | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1925 | rowspan="2" |Republican | |
| 1925 | 1933 |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 10 | | nowrap | Garrison Hamilton | 1933 | 1940 |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| rowspan="2"| 11 | rowspan="2"| | rowspan="2"| Smith Troy | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1941 | bgcolor=#E6E6AA | 1944 | rowspan="2" |Democratic | |
| 1944 | 1952 |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 12 | | nowrap | Don Eastvold | 1953 | 1956
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 13 | 60px | nowrap | John J. O'Connell | 1957 | 1969
|Democratic |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 14 | 60px | nowrap | Slade Gorton | 1969 | 1981
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 15 | 60px | nowrap | Ken Eikenberry | 1981 | 1993
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 16 | 60px | nowrap | Christine Gregoire | 1993 | 2005
|Democratic |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 17 | 60px | nowrap | Rob McKenna | 2005 | 2013
|Republican |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 18 | 60px | nowrap | Bob Ferguson | 2013 | 2025
|Democratic |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 19 | 60px | nowrap | Nick Brown | 2025 | Incumbent
|Democratic |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.atg.wa.gov/ Washington Attorney General] official website
- [http://www.abajournal.com/search/results/search&keywords=Washington+Attorney+General/ Washington Attorney General] articles at ABA Journal
- [http://public.findlaw.com/LCsearch.html?restrict=consumer&entry=%22Washington+Attorney+General%22 News and Commentary] at FindLaw
- [http://law.justia.com/codes/washington/ Revised Code of Washington] at Law.Justia.com
- [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&navby=title&v1=State+of+Washington U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Washington"] at FindLaw
- [http://www.wsba.org/ Washington State Bar Association]
- [http://naag.org/naag/attorneys-general/whos-my-ag/washington/bob-ferguson.php Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson profile] at National Association of Attorneys General
- [http://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases Press releases] at Washington Attorney General
{{Government of Washington}}
{{U.S. state attorneys general}}
{{Washington statewide elected officials}}