The Alaska attorney general is the chief legal advisor to the government of the State of Alaska and to its governor. The attorney general is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature. The position has existed since the early days of the Territory of Alaska, though it was an elected rather than an appointed position prior to statehood. The attorney general also serves as the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Law, and is the only commissioner of a principal department of Alaska state government not referred to as "Commissioner" in normal usage.
List of attorneys general In the earliest days of the Alaska Territory, the Territorial Counsel served as the de facto attorney general. Only one person, John H. Cobb, served in this position. The 2nd Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1915 created the Office of the Attorney General, to become effective after the 1916 general election. The attorney general's position was an elected position during the entirety of territorial days, as opposed to under statehood, in which it has been a position appointed by the governor since 1959. The following is a list of attorneys general in Alaska.
Alaska Territory NameImageTerm of officeGovernor(s)George Barnes Grigsby1916–1919Strong, RiggsJeremiah C. Murphy1919–1920RiggsJohn Rustgard1920–1933Riggs, Bone, ParksJames S. Truitt1933–1941Troy, GrueningHenry Roden1941–1945GrueningRalph Julian Rivers1945–1949GrueningJ. Gerald Williams1949–1959Gruening, Heintzleman, Stepovich
State of Alaska NameImageTerm of officeGovernor(s)John Rader1959–1960EganRalph E. Moody1960–1962George N. Hayes1962–1964Warren C. Colver1964–1966Donald A. Burr1966–1967HickelEdgar Paul Boyko1967–1968G. Kent Edwards1968–1970MillerJohn E. Havelock1970–1973EganNorman C. Gorsuch1973–1974Avrum M. Gross1974–1980HammondWilson L. Condon1980–1982Norman C. Gorsuch1982–1985SheffieldHarold M. Brown1985–1986Grace Berg Schaible1987–1989CowperDouglas Baily1989–1990Charlie Cole1991–1994HickelBruce Botelho1994–2002KnowlesGregg Renkes2002–2005MurkowskiDavid W. Márquez2005–2006Talis J. Colberg2006–2009PalinDan Sullivan2009–2010ParnellJohn J. Burns2010–2012Michael Geraghty2012–2014Craig W. Richards2014–2016WalkerJahna Lindemuth2016–2018Kevin Clarkson2018–2020DunleavyEd Sniffen (acting)2020–2021Treg Taylor2021–2025Stephen J. Cox (acting)2025–2026Cori Mills (acting)2026–present
References
External links
About the Attorney General at Alaska Department of Law Alaska Attorney General articles at ABA Journal News and Commentary at FindLaw Alaska Statutes at Law.Justia.com U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Alaska" at FindLaw Alaska Bar Association Alaska Attorney General Craig W. Richards profile at National Association of Attorneys General Press releases at Alaska Department of Law