# Attorney-General of Western Australia

The Attorney-General of Western Australia is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of law and justice. Before the advent of representative government in 1870, the title was Advocate-General of Western Australia. The Attorney-General must be a qualified legal practitioner. When there are none in the cabinet, a lay person is sometimes appointed to the office of Minister for Justice.
The current Attorney-General of Western Australia, since 17 March 2017, is John Quigley who administers the portfolio through the Department of Justice and a range of other agencies.
One of Quigley's predecessors Christian Porter went on to become Federal Attorney General.

## List

This is a list of Attorneys-General of Western Australia, or any precedent titles. The office of Attorney-General was not always filled: the Australian Parliamentary Library notes that where there was no lawyer among the ministers elected, there would be a Minister for Justice instead of an Attorney-General.
| Order | Minister | Party | Party | Premier | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | William Mackie | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1831 | 1834 | 2–3 years |
| 2 | George Fletcher Moore | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1834 | 1846 | 11–12 years |
| 3 | Richard West Nash | none | none | none | Acting Advocate-General | 1846 | 1847 | 0–1 years |
| (2) | George Fletcher Moore | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1847 | 1852 | 4–5 years |
| 4 | B. W. Vigors | none | none | none | Acting Advocate-General | 1852 | 1854 | 1–2 years |
| 5 | George Frederick Stone | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1854 | 1857 | 2–3 years |
| 6 | Richard Burnie | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1857 | 1859 | 1–2 years |
| (5) | George Frederick Stone | none | none | none | Advocate-General | 1860 | 1870 | 9–10 years |
| 7 | Robert John Walcott | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 4 November 1870 | December 1872 | 2 years, 27 days |
| 8 | Sir Henry Hicks Hocking | none | none | none | Attorney-General | December 1872 | 30 June 1874 (1874-06-30) | 1 year, 211 days |
| 9 | Sir George Walpole Leake QC | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 30 June 1874 | 16 January 1875 | 200 days |
| (8) | Henry Hicks Hocking | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 16 January 1875 | 25 February 1879 | 4 years, 40 days |
| 9 | Sir George Walpole Leake QC | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 1 March 1879 | 24 November 1879 | 268 days |
| 10 | Edward Albert Stone | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 24 November 1879 | 21 March 1880 | 118 days |
| (9) | Sir George Walpole Leake QC | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 21 March 1880 | 21 March 1881 | 1 year, 0 days |
| 11 | Alexander Onslow | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 21 March 1881 | 9 April 1883 | 2 years, 19 days |
| (9) | Sir George Walpole Leake QC | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 9 April 1883 | 10 July 1883 | 92 days |
| 12 | Alfred Hensman | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 10 July 1883 | 18 June 1886 | 2 years, 343 days |
| 13 | Septimus Burt | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 19 June 1886 | 3 December 1886 | 167 days |
| 14 | Charles Warton | none | none | none | Attorney-General | 9 December 1886 | December 1890 | 4 years, 20 days |
| (13) | Septimus Burt | | none | Forrest | Attorney-General | 29 December 1890 | 27 October 1897 | 6 years, 302 days |
| 15 | Richard Pennefather | | none | Forrest | Attorney-General | 27 October 1897 | 20 March 1901 | 3 years, 144 days |
| 16 | William Sayer | | none | Throssell | Attorney-General | 25 March 1901 | 27 May 1901 | 68 days |
| 17 | George Leake KC | | none | Leake | Attorney-General | 27 May 1901 | 21 November 1901 | 178 days |
| 18 | Frederick Moorhead | | none | Morgans | Attorney-General | 21 November 1901 | 23 December 1901 | 32 days |
| (17) | George Leake KC | | none | Leake | Attorney-General | 23 December 1901 | 24 June 1902 | 183 days |
| 19 | Walter James | | none | James | Attorney-General | 1 July 1902 | 10 August 1904 | 2 years, 40 days |
| 20 | Norbert Keenan | | Ministerialist | Moore | Attorney-General | 14 May 1906 | 14 May 1909 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 21 | John Nanson | | Ministerialist | Wilson | Attorney-General | 16 September 1910 | 7 October 1911 | 1 year, 21 days |
| 22 | Thomas Walker | | Labor | Scadden | Attorney-General | 7 October 1911 | 27 July 1916 | 4 years, 294 days |
| 23 | Robert Robinson | | Liberal | Wilson | Attorney-General | 27 July 1916 | 28 June 1917 (1917-06-28) | 2 years, 294 days |
| 23 | Robert Robinson | | Nationalist | Lefroy | Attorney-General | 28 June 1917 (1917-06-28) | 17 April 1919 (1919-04-17) | 2 years, 294 days |
| 23 | Robert Robinson | | Nationalist | Colebatch | Attorney-General | 17 April 1919 (1919-04-17) | 17 May 1919 (1919-05-17) | 2 years, 294 days |
| 24 | Thomas Draper | | Nationalist | Mitchell | Attorney-General | 17 May 1919 | 12 March 1921 | 1 year, 299 days |
| 25 | Thomas Davy | | Nationalist | Mitchell | Attorney-General | 24 April 1930 | 18 February 1933 | 2 years, 300 days |
| 26 | Hubert Parker | | Labor | Collier | Attorney-General | 22 February 1933 | 8 April 1933 | 45 days |
| 27 | Robert Ross McDonald | | Liberal | McLarty | Attorney-General | 1 April 1947 | 5 January 1948 | 279 days |
| 28 | Arthur Abbott | | Liberal | McLarty | Attorney-General | 5 January 1948 | 23 February 1953 | 5 years, 49 days |
| 29 | Arthur Watts | | Liberal | Brand | Attorney-General | 2 April 1959 | 31 January 1962 | 2 years, 304 days |
| 30 | Ron Bertram | | Labor | Tonkin | Attorney-General | 3 March 1971 | 30 September 1971 | 211 days |
| 31 | Tom Evans | | Labor | Tonkin | Attorney-General | 12 October 1971 | 8 April 1974 | 2 years, 178 days |
| 32 | Ian Medcalf | | Liberal | Court | Attorney-General | 22 December 1975 | 25 January 1982 | 7 years, 65 days |
| 32 | Ian Medcalf | | Liberal | O'Connor | Attorney-General | 25 January 1982 | 25 February 1983 | 7 years, 65 days |
| 33 | Joe Berinson | | Labor | Burke | Attorney-General | 25 February 1983 | 25 February 1988 (1988-02-25) | 9 years, 357 days |
| 33 | Joe Berinson | | Labor | Dowding | Attorney-General | 25 February 1988 (1988-02-25) | 12 February 1990 (1990-02-12) | 9 years, 357 days |
| 33 | Joe Berinson | | Labor | Lawrence | Attorney-General | 12 February 1990 (1990-02-12) | 16 February 1993 (1993-02-16) | 3 years, 4 days |
| 34 | Cheryl Edwardes | | Liberal | Court | Attorney-General | 16 February 1993 | 21 December 1995 | 2 years, 308 days |
| 35 | Peter Foss | | Liberal | Court | Attorney-General | 21 December 1995 | 16 February 2001 | 5 years, 57 days |
| 36 | Jim McGinty | | Labor | Gallop | Attorney-General | 16 February 2001 | 25 January 2006 (2006-01-25) | 7 years, 220 days |
| 36 | Jim McGinty | | Labor | Carpenter | Attorney-General | 25 January 2006 (2006-01-25) | 23 September 2008 (2008-09-23) | 7 years, 220 days |
| 37 | Christian Porter | | Liberal | Barnett | Attorney-General | 23 September 2008 | 12 June 2012 | 3 years, 279 days |
| 38 | Michael Mischin | | Liberal | Barnett | Attorney-General | 28 June 2012 | 17 March 2017 | 4 years, 262 days |
| 39 | John Quigley | | Labor | McGowan | Attorney-General | 17 March 2017 (2017-03-17) | 8 June 2023 | 7 years, 348 days |
| 39 | John Quigley | | Labor | Cook | Attorney-General | 8 June 2023 | incumbent | 7 years, 348 days |