# Michigan Attorney General

The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, members of the Senate and members of the House of Representatives.
Since the Michigan Constitution of 1963 was adopted, the attorney general has served a term of four years. The officeholder is also limited to two terms, for a total of eight possible years of service; ten possible years of service if the officeholder serves two full terms and less than half of one term as a replacement.
“Inasmuch as the office of Attorney General has common law powers as the chief law enforcement officer of the State, [they] may exercise the powers of a peace officer and may appoint special agents having this status to assist [them] in enforcing [their] powers and carrying out [their] functions” (AG Opinion No. 5236,10/20/1977).
Michigan law, MCL 14.32, provides that "[i]t shall be the duty of the attorney general, when required, to give [their] opinion upon all questions of law submitted to [them] by the legislature, or by either branch thereof, or by the governor, auditor general, treasurer or any other state officer . . . ."
Michigan's current attorney general is Democrat Dana Nessel, who was elected in November 2018, and sworn into office on January 1, 2019.

## Courtesy title

The attorney general traditionally receives the courtesy title of The Honorable for life.

## List of attorneys general of Michigan

| Attorney General | In office | Political party |
| Daniel LeRoy | 1836–1837 | |
| Peter Morey | 1837–1841 | Democratic |
| Zephaniah Platt | 1841–1843 | Whig |
| Elon Farnsworth | 1843–1845 | Democratic |
| Henry N. Walker | 1845–1847 | Democratic |
| Edward Mundy | 1847–1848 | Democratic |
| George V. N. Lothrop | 1848–1851 | Democratic |
| William Hale | 1851–1855 | Democratic |
| Jacob M. Howard | 1855–1860 | Republican |
| Charles Upson | 1861–1863 | Republican |
| Albert Williams | 1863–1867 | |
| William L. Stoughton | 1867–1869 | Republican |
| Dwight May | 1869–1873 | |
| Byron D. Ball | 1873–1874 | Republican |
| Isaac Marston | 1874–1875 | |
| Andrew J. Smith | 1875–1877 | |
| Otto Kirchner | 1877–1881 | Republican |
| Jacob J. Van Riper | 1881–1885 | |
| Moses Taggart | 1885–1889 | Republican |
| Stephen V. R. Trowbridge | 1889–1890 | |
| Benjamin W. Huston | 1890 | Republican |
| Adolphus A. Ellis | 1891–1895 | Democratic |
| Fred A. Maynard | 1895–1899 | |
| Horace M. Oren | 1899–1903 | |
| Charles A. Blair | 1903–1905 | |
| John E. Bird | 1905–1910 | |
| Franz C. Kuhn | 1910–1912 | Republican |
| Roger I. Wykes | 1912 | Republican |
| Grant Fellows | 1913–1917 | Republican |
| Alex J. Groesbeck | 1917–1921 | Republican |
| Merlin Wiley | 1921–1923 | Republican |
| Andrew B. Dougherty | 1923–1926 | Republican |
| Clare Retan | 1926 | Republican |
| William W. Potter | 1927–1929 | Republican |
| Wilber M. Brucker | 1929–1931 | Republican |
| Paul W. Voorhies | 1931–1933 | Republican |
| Patrick H. O'Brien | 1933–1935 | Democratic |
| Harry S. Toy | 1935 | Republican |
| David H. Crowley | 1935–1937 | Republican |
| Raymond Wesley Starr | 1937–1939 | |
| Thomas Read | 1939-1940 | Republican |
| Herbert J. Rushton | 1941–1944 | Republican |
| John R. Dethmers | 1945–1946 | Republican |
| Foss O. Eldred | 1946 | Republican |
| Eugene F. Black | 1947–1949 | Republican |
| Stephen John Roth | 1949–1951 | |
| Frank Millard | 1951–1955 | Republican |
| Thomas M. Kavanagh | 1955–1957 | Democratic |
| Paul L. Adams | 1957–1961 | Democratic |
| Frank J. Kelley | 1961–1999 | Democratic |
| Jennifer Granholm | 1999–2003 | Democratic |
| Mike Cox | 2003–2011 | Republican |
| Bill Schuette | 2011–2019 | Republican |
| Dana Nessel | 2019–present | Democratic |
Source: Michigan Manual 2003-2004, Chapter IV, Former Officials of Michigan