Attorney General of Delaware

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th Attorney General of Delaware.[1]

Attorney General of Delaware
Incumbent
Kathy Jennings

since January 1, 2019
ResidenceWilmington, Delaware
Term lengthFour years
No Term Limits
Inaugural holderGunning Bedford Jr.
February 1, 1783
WebsiteDelaware Department of Justice - Attorney General Office
Seal of the Attorney General of Delaware

Description of the office

The Attorney General elected to a four-year term in the "off-year" state election, two years before/after the election of the Governor. Along with the State Treasurer, State Auditor, and State Insurance Commissioner, the office is intended to serve as a restraint to the Governor's exclusive executive authority. The office existed in various forms prior to the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1776, which continued the existing colonial tradition of granting the Governor of Delaware the power to appoint the Attorney General for a five-year tenure. With the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, the post was converted to its present four-year elected form, also establishing the Attorney General as third in line of succession to the office of Governor, after the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State.

Officeholders

Gunning Bedford, Jr. was the first holder of the office after American independence. The office was held from 2007-2015 by Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, who was elected in 2006 and took office on January 2, 2007. He was a Democrat and the eldest son of President and former senior U.S. Senator from Delaware, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.. The current incumbent is Kathy Jennings.

Attorneys General of Delaware

# Name Term Office Political Party
1 Gunning Bedford Jr. 17781790
2 Nicholas Ridgely 17901801
3 Nicholas Van Dyke 18011806 Federalist
4 Outerbridge Horsey 18061810 Federalist
5 Thomas Clayton 18101815 Federalist
6 James Rogers 18151830
7 Robert Frame 18301835
8 James Rogers 18351840
9 Edward W. Gilpin 18401850
10 Willard Saulsbury, Sr. 18501855 Democratic
11 George P. Fisher 18551860
12 Alfred Wooten 18601864
13 Jacob Moore 18641869
14 Charles B. Lore 18691874 Democratic
15 John B. Penington 18741879 Democratic
16 George Gray 18791885 Democratic
17 John Henry Paynter[2] 18851887
18 John Biggs 18871892
19 John R. Nicholson 18921895
20 Robert C. White 18951901
21 Herbert H. Ward 19011905
22 Robert H. Richards 19051909
23 Andrew C. Gray 19091913
24 Josiah O. Wolcott 19131917 Democratic
25 David J. Reinhardt 19171921
26 Sylvester D. Townsend Jr. 19211925
27 Clarence A. Southerland 19251929
28 Reuben Satterthwaite Jr. 19291933
29 Daniel J. Layton 1933 Republican
30 P. Warren Green 19331939
31 James R. Morford 19391943
32 Clair J. Killoran 19431947
33 Albert W. James 19471951
34 H. Albert Young 19511955
35 Joseph D. Craven 19551959 Democratic
36 Januar D. Bove Jr. 19591963 Republican
37 David P. Buckson 19631971 Republican
38 W. Laird Stabler Jr. 19711975 Republican
39 Richard R. Wier Jr. 19751979
40 Richard S. Gebelein 19791983
41 Charles Oberly 19831995 Democratic
42 M. Jane Brady 19952005 Republican
43 Carl C. Danberg 20052007 Democratic
44 Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, III 20072015 Democratic
45 Matthew Denn 20152019 Democratic
46 Kathy Jennings 2019present Democratic

See also

Sources

References

  • Scharf, John Thomas (1888). History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.
  • Conrad, Henry C. (1908). History of the State of Delaware. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.
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