# Attorney General of Maryland

The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qualified voter in Maryland and must have lived and practiced law in the state for at least ten years.
The attorney general has general charge, supervision and direction of the legal business of the State. The attorney general is the legal advisor and representative of the Governor, the General Assembly, the Judiciary, and the major departments, various boards, commissions, officials and institutions of State Government. The office further represents the State in all cases pending in the Appellate Courts of the State, and in the United States Supreme Court and lower Federal Courts. As of 2023, the attorney general is Democrat Anthony Brown.

## Summary of powers

* The Attorney General serves as legal counsel to the Governor, the Legislature, and all State departments, boards, and most commissions.
* The Attorney General may bring an action to restrain a foreign limited liability company from doing business in this State.
* The Attorney General may obtain a court order prohibiting the guarantor or service contract provider from further violations in this State.

## Colonial attorneys general

Colonial attorneys general of Maryland :
| Name | Term | Home |
| Lt. Richard Smith, Sr. | 1657–1660/61 | Calvert County |
| Capt. Thomas Manning | 1660/61–1666 | Calvert County |
| Col. William Calvert | 1666–1670 | St. Mary's City |
| Col. Vincent Lowe | 1670–1676 | Talbot County |
| Kenelm Cheseldyne | 1676–1681 | St. Mary's City |
| Thomas Burford | 1681–1686/87 | Charles County |
| Robert Carvile | 1688 | St. Mary's City |
| Charles Carroll | 1688–1689 | St. Mary's City & Anne Arundel County |
| Col. George Plater, I | 1691–1692 | St. Mary's County |
| Edward Wynn | 1692 | St. Mary's County |
| Col. George Plater, I | 1692–1698 | St. Mary's County |
| Maj. William Dent | 1698–1704 | Charles County |
| Col. William Bladen | 1704–1718 | Annapolis |
| Thomas Bordley | 1718–1721 | Annapolis |
| Daniel Dulany, Sr. | 1721–1725 | Annapolis |
| Michael Howard | 1725–1734 | Talbot County |
| Daniel Dulany, Sr. | 1734–1744 | Annapolis |
| Henry Darnall, III | 1744–1756 | Prince George's County |
| Stephen Bordley | 1756–1763 | Annapolis |
| Edmund Key | 1764–1766 | Annapolis |
| Robert Goldsborough, II | 1766–1768 | Dorchester County |
| Thomas Jennings | 1768–1776 | Annapolis |

## Modern attorneys general

Modern attorneys general of Maryland :
| Name | From | To | Party | Law school |
| James Tilghman | 1777 | 1778 | |
| Luther Martin | 1778 | 1805 | |
| William Pinkney | 1805 | 1806 | Democratic-Republican |
| John Thomson Mason | 1806 | 1806 | |
| John Johnson, Sr. | 1806 | 1811 | |
| John Montgomery | 1811 | 1818 | Democratic-Republican |
| Luther Martin | 1818 | 1822 | |
| Thomas Beale Dorsey | 1822 | 1824 | Democratic-Republican |
| Thomas Kell | 1824 | 1827 | |
| Roger B. Taney | 1827 | 1831 | Democratic |
| Josiah Bayly | 1831 | 1846 | |
| George R. Richardson | 1846 | 1851 | |
| Robert J. Brent | 1851 | 1864 | Whig |
| Alexander Randall | 1864 | 1867 | Whig |
| Isaac Dashiell Jones | 1867 | 1871 | Whig |
| Andrew K. Syester | 1871 | 1875 | Whig |
| Charles J. M. Gwinn | 1875 | 1883 | Democratic |
| Charles Boyle Roberts | 1883 | 1887 | Democratic |
| William Pinkney Whyte | 1887 | 1891 | Democratic | Harvard Law School |
| John Prentiss Poe | 1891 | 1895 | Democratic |
| Harry M. Clabaugh | 1895 | 1899 | Republican | University of Maryland School of Law |
| George Riggs Gaither Jr. | 1899 | 1899 | Republican |
| Isidor Rayner | 1899 | 1903 | Democratic | University of Virginia School of Law |
| William Shepard Bryan Jr. | 1903 | 1907 | Democratic | University of Virginia School of Law |
| Isaac Lobe Straus | 1907 | 1911 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Edgar Allan Poe | 1911 | 1915 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Albert Ritchie | 1915 | 1919 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Ogle Marbury (acting) | 1918 | 1919 | Democrat | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Alexander Armstrong | 1919 | 1923 | Republican | University of Pennsylvania Law School |
| Thomas H. Robinson | 1923 | 1930 | Democratic | |
| William Preston Lane Jr. | 1930 | 1934 | Democratic | University of Virginia School of Law |
| Herbert O'Conor | 1934 | 1938 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| William C. Walsh | 1938 | 1945 | Democratic | Catholic University School of Law |
| William Curran | 1945 | 1946 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Hall Hammond | 1946 | 1952 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Edward D. E. Rollins | 1952 | 1954 | Republican | University of Maryland School of Law |
| C. Ferdinand Sybert | 1954 | 1961 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Thomas B. Finan | 1961 | 1966 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Robert C. Murphy | 1966 | 1966 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| Francis B. Burch | 1966 | 1978 | Democratic | Yale Law School |
| Jon F. Oster | 1979 | 1979 | Democratic | University of Maryland School of Law |
| George A. Nilson | 1979 | 1979 | Democratic | Yale Law School |
| Stephen H. Sachs | 1979 | 1987 | Democratic | Yale Law School |
| J. Joseph Curran Jr. | 1987 | 2007 | Democratic | University of Baltimore School of Law |
| Doug Gansler | 2007 | 2015 | Democratic | University of Virginia School of Law |
| Brian Frosh | 2015 | 2023 | Democratic | Columbia Law School |
| Anthony Brown | 2023 | | Democratic | Harvard Law School |