From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Minnesota Attorney General

Attorney general for the U.S. state of Minnesota

Field	Value
post	Attorney General
body	Minnesota
insigniasize	180px
image	Keith Ellison portrait (cropped).jpg
incumbent	Keith Ellison
incumbentsince	January 7, 2019
style
seat	Minnesota State Capitol
Saint Paul, Minnesota
member_of	Executive Council, among others
appointer	General election
termlength	Four years, no term limits
formation
succession	Sixth
inaugural	Charles H. Berry
salary	$121,248
constituting_instrument	Minnesota Constitution of 1858, Article V
website	Official page

Saint Paul, Minnesota

The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member.

Election and term of office

The attorney general is elected by the people on Election Day in November, and takes office on the first Monday of the next January. There is no limit to the number of terms an attorney general may hold. To be elected attorney general, a person must be a qualified voter, permanently resident in the state of Minnesota at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 21 years of age.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of the attorney general, the governor may appoint a successor to serve the balance of the term. The attorney general may also be recalled by the voters or removed from office through an impeachment trial.

Powers and duties

The attorney general is the chief law officer for the state of Minnesota, and as such, represents the state of Minnesota parens patriae in both state and federal court as well as in administrative proceedings, such as matters of adjudication or rulemaking. In addition, the Office of the Attorney General handles felony criminal appeals, issues formal opinions on questions of constitutional or statutory law, and provides legal advice, litigation, and appellate services to over 100 state agencies, boards, and commissions. On occasion, these services are extended to rural county prosecutors in serious felonies and criminal prosecutions. Separately, the attorney general's office enforces state antitrust and consumer protection laws, regulates charities, and advocates for residents and small businesses in utility matters.

In addition to his or her functional responsibilities, the attorney general is an ex officio member of the Board of Pardons, the Executive Council, the Land Exchange Board, the Governing Board for the Minnesota Historical Society, the Records Disposition Panel, and the State Board of Investment.

List of attorneys general

[[Minnesota Territory]]

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	Political party
	Lorenzo A. Babcock	1849	1853	Whig
[[File:LafayetteEmmett.jpg	60px]]	LaFayette Emmett	1853	1858	Democratic

In 1886, elections were moved from odd years to even years. Beginning with the 1962 election, the term of the office increased from two to four years.

;Parties

State of Minnesota

No.	Image	Name	Term of office	Political party	Law school
1	[[File:CharlesHBerry1885.jpg	60px]]	Charles H. Berry	1858–1860	Republican	Read law
2	[[File:GordonECole1860.jpg	60px]]	Gordon E. Cole	1860–1866	Republican	Harvard Law School
3	[[File:William Colvill.jpg	60px]]	William J. Colvill	1866–1868	Union Democrat	Read law under Millard Fillmore
4	[[File:FrancesRECornell.jpg	60px]]	Francis R. E. Cornell	1868–1874	Republican	Read law
5		George P. Wilson	1874–1880	Republican	Read law
6	[[File:Charles M. Start (Minnesota Supreme Court).PNG	60px]]	Charles M. Start	1880–1881	Republican	Read law under William C. Wilson
7		William John Hahn	1881–1887	Republican	Read law
8	[[File:MosesClapp.jpg	60px]]	Moses E. Clapp	1887–1893	Republican	University of Wisconsin Law School
9	[[File:Drawing of Henry W. Childs.png	60px]]	Henry W. Childs	1893–1899	Republican	Read law
10	[[File:Wallace B. Douglas (Minnesota Supreme Court).PNG	60px]]	Wallace B. Douglas	1899–1904	Republican	University of Michigan Law School
11		William J. Donahower	1904–1905	Republican	Read law
12	[[File:Edward T. Young.png	60px]]	Edward T. Young	1905–1909	Republican	University of Minnesota Law School
13		George T. Simpson	1909–1912	Republican	Read law
14	[[File:LyndonAmbroseSmith.jpg	60px]]	Lyndon A. Smith	1912–1918	Republican	Georgetown University Law Center
15	[[File:Clifford L. Hilton (Minnesota Supreme Court).PNG	60px]]	Clifford L. Hilton	1918–1927	Republican	University of Wisconsin Law School
16	[[File:Albert F. Pratt (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Albert F. Pratt	1927–1928	Republican	University of Minnesota Law School
17	[[File:G.A. Youngquist (cropped).jpg	60px]]	G. Aaron Youngquist	1928–1929	Republican	St. Paul College of Law
18	[[File:Henry N. Benson (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Henry N. Benson	1929–1933	Republican	University of Minnesota Law School
19	[[File:Harry H. Peterson 1932 Edit.jpg	60px]]	Harry H. Peterson	1933–1936	Farmer-Labor	University of Minnesota Law School
20	[[File:William S. Ervin (cropped).jpg	60px]]	William S. Ervin	1936–1939	Farmer-Labor	University of Minnesota Law School
21	[[File:JosephAABurnquist.jpg	60px]]	Joseph A. A. Burnquist	1939–1955	Republican	University of Minnesota Law School
22	[[File:Miles Lord - Federal Portrait.jpg	60px]]	Miles Lord	1955–1960	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
23	[[File:Mondale as Senator.jpg	60px]]	Walter Mondale	1960–1964	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
24	[[File:Robert W. Mattson Sr.png	60px]]	Robert W. Mattson Sr.	1964–1967	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
25	[[File:Douglas M. Head.jpg	60px]]	Douglas M. Head	1967–1971	Republican	University of Minnesota Law School
26	[[File:Warren Spannaus.png	60px]]	Warren Spannaus	1971–1983	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
27	[[File:Hubert Humphrey III (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Skip Humphrey	1983–1999	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
28	[[File:MikeHatchMinnesota2006-08-21 crop.jpg	60px]]	Mike Hatch	1999–2007	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School
29	[[File:Lori Swanson 2013.jpg	60px]]	Lori Swanson	2007–2019	DFL	William Mitchell College of Law
30	[[File:Keith Ellison portrait (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Keith Ellison	2019–present	DFL	University of Minnesota Law School

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party: On April 15, 1944, the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.

References

(2021). "State Elected Officials' Compensation". Minnesota House Research Department.
"Article VII, Sections 1, 2, and 6 of the Minnesota Constitution". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
"Article V, Section 3 of the Minnesota Constitution". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
"Article VIII, Sections 1, 2, and 6". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
"About Our Office". Minnesota Office of the Attorney General.
"Board of Pardons". Minnesota Department of Corrections.
"Executive Council". Minnesota Department of Administration.
"Land Exchange Board and meetings". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
"Leadership". Minnesota Historical Society.
"Records Disposition Panel". Minnesota Historical Society.
"About Us". Minnesota State Board of Investment.
(January 19, 1853). "The Minnesota Legislature and Its Politics, &c: Political Character of the Council". The Minnesota Democrat.
EHN, Reference Desk. "Library Research Guides: Lafayette Emmett, Chief Justice, 1858-1865: Biography".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

lists-of-minnesota-officeholders minnesota-attorneys-general lists-of-minnesota-politicians minnesota-law-related-lists

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Minnesota Attorney General — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report