# Massachusetts Attorney General

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 maintaining economic competition. The current attorney general is Andrea Campbell.

## Qualifications

Any person seeking to become the attorney general of Massachusetts must meet the following requirements:
* Be at least eighteen years of age
* Be a registered voter in Massachusetts
* Be a Massachusetts resident for at least five years when elected
* Receive 10,000 signatures from registered voters on nomination papers
* Be a member of the Massachusetts Bar

## History

When the 1780 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 six bureaus: Executive; Energy and Environmental; Criminal; Government; Health Care and Fair Competition; 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
### Province of Massachusetts Bay

Office established at the start of Queen Anne's War in 1702.
| # | Name | Term of service |
| 1 | Paul Dudley | 1702–1718 |
| 2 | John Valentine | 1718–1720 |
| 3 | Thomas Newton | 1720–1721 |
| – | Vacant | 1721–1722 |
| 4 | John Overing | 1722–1723 |
| – | Vacant | 1723–1725 |
| 5 | John Read | 1725–1728 |
| 6 | Joseph Hiller | 1728–1729 |
| 7 | John Overing | 1729–1736 |
| 8 | William Brattle | 1736–1738 |
| 9 | John Overing | 1739–1748 |
| 10 | Edmund Trowbridge | 1749–1767 |
| 11 | Jeremiah Gridley | 1767 |
| – | Vacant | 1767 |
| 12 | Jonathan Sewall | 1767–1774 |
| – | Vacant | 1774–1776 |
| 13 | Benjamin Kent | 1776–1777 |
| 14 | Robert Treat Paine | 1777–1780 |

### Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Office reestablished upon the ratification of the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1780.
| No. | Name | Prior experience | Municipality of residence | Term of service | Political party |
| Party affiliation: Republican (25) Democratic (12) Democratic-Republican (3)  Whig (3) Anti-Jacksonian (1) Independent (1) |||||||
| 1 | Robert Treat Paine | | | 1780–1790 | Independent |
| 2 | James Sullivan | | | 1790–1807 | Democratic–Republican |
| 3 | Barnabas Bidwell | | | 1807–1810 | Democratic–Republican |
| 4 | Perez Morton | | | 1810–1832 | Democratic–Republican |
| 5 | James T. Austin | | | 1832–1843 | National Republican |
| – | Office abolished | | | 1843–1849 | |
| 6 | John H. Clifford | | | 1849–1853 | Whig |
| 7 | Rufus Choate | | | 1853–1854 | Whig |
| 8 | John H. Clifford | | | 1854–1858 | Whig |
| 9 | Stephen Henry Phillips | | | 1858–1861 | Republican |
| 10 | Dwight Foster | | | 1861–1864 | Republican |
| 11 | Chester I. Reed | | | 1864–1867 | Republican |
| 12 | Charles Allen | | | 1867–1872 | Republican |
| 13 | Charles R. Train | | | 1872–1879 | Republican |
| 14 | George Marston | | | 1879–1883 | Republican |
| 15 | Edgar J. Sherman | | | 1883–1887 | Republican |
| 16 | Andrew J. Waterman | | | 1887–1891 | Republican |
| 17 | Albert E. Pillsbury | | | 1891–1894 | Republican |
| 18 | Hosea M. Knowlton | | | 1894–1902 | Republican |
| 19 | Herbert Parker | | | 1902–1906 | Republican |
| 20 | Dana Malone | | | 1906–1911 | Republican |
| 21 | James M. Swift | | | 1911–1914 | Republican |
| 22 | Thomas J. Boynton | | | 1914–1915 | Democratic |
| 23 | Henry Converse Atwill | | | 1915–1919 | Republican |
| 24 | Henry A. Wyman | | | 1919–1920 | Republican |
| 25 | J. Weston Allen | House 1915 to 1918, Attorney-at-Law | Newton | 1920–1923 | Republican |
| 26 | Jay R. Benton | Mass. House 1917, '18; Ass't Atty. Gen'l 1918-'22 | Belmont | 1923–1927 | Republican |
| 27 | Arthur K. Reading | Mass House 1919 to 1922, Middlesex County District Attorney, 1923-'26, Lawyer | Cambridge | 1927–1928 | Republican |
| 28 | Joseph E. Warner | Taunton Municipal Council 1907-'11, Trust. Pub. Library, Mass. House 1913-'20, Speaker 1919-'20, Delegate to Rep. National Convention 1920, Asst. Atty. Gen. 1923-'28, Attorney-at-Law | Taunton | 1928–1935 | Republican |
| 29 | Paul A. Dever | Middlesex County Public Administrator, Mass. House 1929-'34, Lawyer | Cambridge | 1935–1941 | Democratic |
| 30 | Robert T. Bushnell | Middlesex County District Attorney, Lawyer | West Newton | 1941–1945 | Republican |
| 31 | Clarence A. Barnes | Mansfield Town Moderator and Counsel, Mass. House 1912-'13, Constitutional Convention, Governor's Council 1943-'44, Lawyer | Mansfield | 1945–1949 | Republican |
| 32 | Francis E. Kelly | Boston City Council, Lieutenant Governor, Fall River Finance Commissioner, Attorney at law | Dorchester, Boston | 1949–1953 | Democratic |
| 33 | George Fingold | Asst. Attorney General, Asst. District Attorney, City Council, Lawyer | Concord | 1953–1958 | Republican |
| 34 | Edward J. McCormack Jr. | Boston City Council, Lawyer | Dorchester, Boston | 1958–1963 | Democratic |
| 35 | Edward W. Brooke | Boston Finance Commission (chairman), Mass. Advisory Committee, U.S. Civil Rights Commission (chairman), Lawyer | Newton Centre | 1963–1967 | Republican |
| 36 | Edward T. Martin | | | 1967 | Republican |
| 37 | Elliot Richardson | Lieutenant Governor, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Brookline Town Meeting member, Lawyer | Brookline | 1967–1969 | Republican |
| 38 | Robert H. Quinn | Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Lawyer | Dorchester, Boston | 1969–1975 | Democratic |
| 39 | Francis X. Bellotti | Lieutenant Governor, Attorney | Quincy | 1975–1987 | Democratic |
| 40 | James Shannon | Representative in Congress, Lawyer | Lawrence | 1987–1991 | Democratic |
| 41 | L. Scott Harshbarger | Middlesex County District Attorney; General Counsel, State Ethics Commission; Chief, Public Protection Bureau, Department of Attorney General; Deputy Chief Counsel, Massachusetts Defenders Committee | Westwood | 1991–1999 | Democratic |
| 42 | Thomas Reilly | Middlesex County District Attorney | Watertown | 1999–2007 | Democratic |
| 43 | Martha Coakley | Middlesex County District Attorney | Medford | 2007–2015 | Democratic |
| 44 | Maura Healey | Massachusetts Attorney General's Office as the Chief of the Civil Rights Division, Chief of the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau, Chief of the Business and Labor Bureau, litigator and junior partner at the international law firm WilmerHale, Special Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County, clerk for Judge David Mazzone in the United States District Court in Massachusetts, former professional basketball player | Boston | 2015–2023 | Democratic |
| Acting | Kate R. Cook | First Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts from January 2022 until January 5, 2023 | Boston | January 5, 2023 | Independent |
| Acting | Bessie Dewar | State Solicitor of Massachusetts since January 2016 | Boston | January 5–18, 2023 | Democratic |
| 45 | Andrea Campbell | Member of the Boston City Council, President of the Boston City Council, 2021 Boston mayoral candidate, Lawyer | Boston | 2023–present | Democratic |
* ↑ Sullivan was independent, but switched to the Democratic–Republican Party between 1792 and 1794.