Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales

Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown

Law Officers of the Crown

The Law Officers of the Crown are the chief legal advisers to the Crown, and advise and represent the various governments in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms. In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and most Commonwealth and colonial governments, the chief law officer of the...

. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales

Solicitor General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...

, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

. The current Attorney General is Dominic Grieve

Dominic Grieve

Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC MP is a British Conservative politician, barrister and Queen's Counsel.He is the Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield and the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life:Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of...

 QC.

The position of Attorney General has existed since at least 1243, when records show a professional attorney was hired to represent the King's interests in court. The position first took on a political role in 1461 when the holder of the office was summoned to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 to advise the government there on legal matters. In 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's advisor and representative in legal matters, although still specialising in litigation rather than advice. The beginning of the 20th century saw a shift away from litigation and more towards legal advice, and today the Attorney General delegates most cases to the Crown Prosecution Service

Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...

 and Treasury Counsel.

13th century

• William de Boneville (1277–1278)
• William de Giselham (1278–1279)
• Gilbert de Thornton (1279–1280)
• Alanus de Walkingham (1280–1281)
• John le Fawconer (1281–1284)
• William de Selby (1284–1286)
• Gilbert de Thornton (1286–1286)
• William Inge
  William Inge (judge)
  Sir William Inge was an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench for a few months from 1316 to 1317. He was born in or near Dunstable, Bedfordshire, the son of Thomas Inge, a minor landowner and administrator. William Inge acted as an attorney at the common bench from 1281 and 1285,...
  
   (1286–1289)
• John de Bosco (1289–1290)

14th century

• William de Merston (26 February 1327–1329)
• Richard de Aldeburgh (1329–1334)
• Simon de Trewythosa (c. 1334)
• William de Hepton (1334–1338)
• John de Lincoln (28 May 1338 – 4 August 1338)
• John de Clone (4 August 1338–1338)
• William de Merington (1338–1339)
• John de Clone (1339–1342)
• William de Thorpe (1342–1343)
• John de Lincoln (1343–1343)
• John de Clone (1343–1349)
• Simon de Kegworth (1349–1353)
• Henry de Greystok (1353–1356)
• John of Gaunt (1356 – 4 May 1360)
• Richard de Fryseby (4 May 1360–1362)
• William (or possibly Robert) de Pleste (1362–1363)
• William de Nessefield (1363 – 9 November 1366)
• Thomas de Shardelow (9 November 1366 – 20 May 1367)
• John de Ashwell (20 May 1367–1367)
• Michael Skilling (1367–1378)
• Thomas de Shardelow (1378–1381)
• William Ellis (1381–1381)
• Laurence Dru (1381–1384)
• William de Horneby (1384–1386)
• Edmund Brudnell (1386–1398)
• Thomas Coveley (1398 – 30 September 1399)
• William de Lodington (30 September 1399–1401)

15th century

• Thomas Coveley (1401 – 13 July 1407)
• Thomas Dereham (13 July 1407 – 17 August 1407)
• Roger Hunt (17 August 1407–1410)
• Thomas Tickhill (1410 – 16 January 1414)
• William Babington (16 January 1414–1420)
• William Babthorpe (1420 – 28 October 1429)
• John Vampage (28 October 1429 – 30 June 1452)
• William de Nottingham (30 June 1452 – 12 August 1461)
• John Herbert (12 August 1461–1461)
• Henry Sothill (1461 – 16 June 1471)
• William Hussey (16 June 1471 – 7 May 1481)
• William Huddersfield (7 May 1481 – 28 May 1483)
• Morgan Kidwelly (28 May 1483 – 20 September 1485)
• William Hody (20 September 1485 – 3 November 1486)
• James Hobart (3 November 1486 – April 1509)

16th century

• John Ernley
  John Ernley
  Sir John Ernley was a British justice. He was educated at one of the Inns of Chancery from 1478 to 1480 before being admitted to Gray's Inn. By 1490 he was a particularly conspicuous member of the "Sussex circle" gathered around Edmund Dudley...
  
   (April 1509 – 26 January 1518)
• John Fitz-James (26 January 1518 – February 1522)
• John Roper (February 1522 – 1 April 1524)
• Ralph Swillington
  Ralph Swillington
  Ralph Swillington was Recorder of Coventry and Attorney General to Henry VIII.Swillington was Attorney General for the short period of time between 1524 and his death in the following year. In his will , he left land in Driffield, Yorkshire, to his nephew, George Swillington. A monument in St...
  
   (1 April 1524 – August 1525)
• Richard Lyster
  Richard Lyster
  Sir Richard Lyster was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.-Origins and early career:Sir Frederick Madden in his "Remarks on the Monument of Sir Richard Lyster in St. Michael's Church Southampton," describes both the judge's grandfather, Thomas, and his father, John, as of...
  
   (August 1525 – 3 June 1529)
• Christopher Hales
  Christopher Hales
  -Origins:The family of Hales was a most ancient one, deriving its name from Hales in Norfolk, where Roger de Hales possessed property in the reign of Henry II. Before the close of Edward III's reign, it had removed into Kent and was settled at Halden near Tenterden. The unfortunate Robert de Hales...
  
   (3 June 1529 – 10 July 1535)
• Sir John Baker (10 July 1535 – 8 November 1540)
• Sir William Whorwood
  William Whorwood
  Sir William Whorwood was Solicitor General from 1536 to 1540 and then Attorney General under Henry VIII until his death.He was a younger son of John Whorwood, one of a family of minor gentry, who had long lived at Compton in Kinver...
  
   (8 November 1540 – 8 June 1545)
• Henry Bradshaw (8 June 1545 – 21 May 1552)
• Edward Griffin (21 May 1552 – 22 January 1559)
• Sir Gilbert Gerard (22 January 1559 – 1 June 1581)
• Sir John Popham (1 June 1581 – 2 June 1592)
• Sir Thomas Egerton (2 June 1592 – 10 April 1594)
• Sir Edward Coke
  Edward Coke
  Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
  
   (10 April 1594 – 4 July 1606)

17th century

• Sir Henry Hobart
  Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet
  Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet SL , of Blickling Hall, was an English judge and politician.The son of Thomas Hobart and Audrey Hare, and Great grandson of Sir James Hobart of Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, who served as Attorney General during the reign of King Henry VII.Sir Henry would further this lineal...
  
   (4 July 1606 – 27 October 1613)
• Sir Francis Bacon
  Francis Bacon
  Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
  
   (27 October 1613 – 12 March 1617)
• Sir Henry Yelverton
  Henry Yelverton (attorney-general)
  -Life:The eldest son of Sir Christopher Yelverton and his wife, Margaret Catesby, he was born on 29 June 1566, it is said at Easton-Mauduit, his father's house in Northamptonshire. He became a barrister on 25 April 1593, and an ancient on 25 May of the same year. He was reader in 1607.In 1597, 1604...
  
   (12 March 1617 – 11 January 1621)
• Sir Thomas Coventry
  Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry
  Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century.-Education and early legal career:...
  
   (11 January 1621 – 31 October 1625)
• Robert Heath
  Robert Heath
  Sir Robert Heath was an English lawyer and judge.-Early life:He was educated at Tunbridge Wells grammar school, St John's College, Cambridge from age 14 and Clifford's Inn from age 17; and became a barrister of the Inner Temple in 1603. He was an MP for the City of London in 1620, and became...
  
   (31 October 1625 – 27 October 1631)
• William Noy
  William Noy
  William Noy was a noted British jurist.He was born on the family estate of Pendrea in St Buryan, Cornwall. He left Exeter College, Oxford without taking a degree, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1594. From 1603 until his death he was elected, with one exception, to each parliament, sitting...
  
   (27 October 1631 – 27 September 1634)
• Sir John Banks
  John Bankes
  Sir John Bankes was Attorney General and Chief Justice to King Charles I of England during the English Civil War. He was one of the most prominent members of the Bankes family of Dorset...
  
   (27 September 1634 – 29 January 1641)
• Sir Edward Herbert (29 January 1641 – 3 November 1645)
• Thomas Gardiner
  Thomas Gardiner (Royalist)
  Thomas Gardiner was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War....
  
   (royalist) (3 November 1645–1649)
• Oliver St John
  Oliver St John
  Sir Oliver St John , was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1653. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.- Early life :...
  
   (parliamentary) (May 1644 – 10 January 1649)
• William Steele (commonwealth) (10 January 1649 – 9 April 1649)
• Edmund Prideaux
  Edmund Prideaux
  Sir Edmund Prideaux was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament, who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. He was briefly solicitor-general but chose to resign rather than participate in the regicide of Charles I and was afterwards attorney-general a position he held...
  
   (commonwealth) (9 April 1649–1659)
• Robert Reynolds
  Robert Reynolds (Attorney General)
  Sir Robert Reynolds was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament who served as Solicitor General and Attorney General during the Commonwealth period....
  
   (commonwealth) (1659 – 31 May 1660)
• Sir Edward Herbert (in exile) (1649–1653)
• Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bt
  Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet
  Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet, SL was an English lawyer and politician.Born in Carlton, Northamptonshire, he obtained a BA from Christ's College, Cambridge in 1616 and a MA 1619. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 14 June 1616 and called to the bar on 23 May 1623...
  
   (31 May 1660 – 10 May 1670)
• Sir Heneage Finch
  Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham
  Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC , Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage Finch, recorder of London, by his first wife Frances Bell, daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of...
  
   (10 May 1670 – 12 November 1673)
• Sir Francis North
  Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford
  Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford PC KC was the third son of the 4th Baron North, and was created Baron Guilford in 1683, after becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in succession to Lord Nottingham....
  
   (12 November 1673 – 25 January 1675)
• Sir William Jones
  William Jones (law-officer)
  -Life:He was son of Richard Jones, of Stowey, Somerset, M.P. for Somerset in 1654, and entered Gray's Inn on 6 May 1647. He was called to the bar, and acquired a practice in the court of king's bench...
  
   (25 January 1675 – 27 October 1679)
• Sir Creswell Levinge (27 October 1679 – 24 February 1681)
• Sir Robert Sawyer
  Robert Sawyer (Attorney General)
  Sir Robert Sawyer, of Highclere was the Attorney General for England and Wales and, briefly, Speaker of the English House of Commons....
  
   (24 February 1681 – 13 December 1687)
• Sir Thomas Powis (13 December 1687 – December 1688)
• Sir Henry Pollexfen
  Henry Pollexfen
  Sir Henry Pollexfen was a British judge and politician. He was the son of Andrew Pollexfen and his wife Joan, and the brother of John Pollexfen, the British political economist. He entered Inner Temple in 1652, was called to the bar in 1658 and by 1662 he was pleading before the high courts at...
  
   (March 1689 – 4 May 1689)
• Sir George Treby
  George Treby (judge)
  Sir George Treby JP was a British justice and politician.-Early life and education:He was the oldest son of Peter Treby, a barrister at the Court of Common Pleas and his wife Joan. He was educated at Plympton School, and was accepted into Exeter College, Oxford in June 1660...
  
   (4 May 1689 – 3 May 1692)
• Sir John Somers
  John Somers, 1st Baron Somers
  John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, PC, FRS was an English Whig jurist and statesman. Somers first came to national attention in the trial of the Seven Bishops where he was on the their defence counsel. He published tracts on political topics such as the succession to the crown, where he elaborated his...
  
   (3 May 1692 – 30 March 1693)
• Sir Edward Ward
  Edward Ward
  Edward Ward may refer to:*Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley , English peer*Edward Ward , Irish MP for Bangor and Down*Edward Michael Ward , British envoy to Portugal, Russia and Saxony...
  
   (30 March 1693 – 8 June 1695)
• Sir Thomas Trevor
  Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor
  Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor PC was knighted in 1692 as Solicitor General and in 1695 became Attorney-General....
  
   (8 June 1695 – 28 June 1701)

18th century

• Sir Edward Northey (28 June 1701 – 26 April 1707)
• Sir Simon Harcourt
  Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt
  Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, PC was Queen Anne's Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was her solicitor-general and her commissioner for arranging the union with Scotland...
  
   (26 April 1707 – 22 October 1708)
• Sir James Montagu
  James Montagu (judge)
  Sir James Montagu SL QC was an English barrister, and judge. As a politician, he sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1695 and 1713 and served as Solicitor General and Attorney General.-Life:...
  
   (22 October 1708 – 19 September 1710)
• Sir Simon Harcourt
  Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt
  Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, PC was Queen Anne's Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was her solicitor-general and her commissioner for arranging the union with Scotland...
  
   (19 September 1710 – 19 October 1710)
• Sir Edward Northey (19 October 1710 – 18 March 1718)
• Sir Nicholas Lechmere
  Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere
  Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere was an English lawyer and politician who served as Attorney-General and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster....
  
   (18 March 1718 – 7 May 1720)
• Sir Robert Raymond
  Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond
  Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond PC was a British judge.Robert Raymond was the son of the judge Thomas Raymond. He was educated at Eton and Christ's College, Cambridge. Said to have been admitted to Gray's Inn aged nine, he became a barrister in 1697 and was admitted at Lincoln's Inn in 1710...
  
   (7 May 1720 – 1 February 1724)
• Sir Philip Yorke
  Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke
  Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke PC was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762....
  
   (1 February 1724 – January 1734)
• Sir John Willes
  John Willes (judge)
  Sir John Willes was an English lawyer and judge who was the longest-serving Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas since the 15th century. He was also a Member of Parliament....
  
   (January 1734 – 28 January 1737)
• Sir Dudley Ryder
  Dudley Ryder (judge)
  Sir Dudley Ryder was a British politician, judge and diarist.-Career:The son of a draper, Ryder studied at a dissenting academy in Hackney and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and Leiden University in The Netherlands. He went to the Middle Temple in 1713 and was called to the Bar in 1719...
  
   (28 January 1737 – May 1754)
• William Murray
  William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
  William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, SL, PC was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School...
  
   (May 1754 – 3 November 1756)
• Sir Robert Henley
  Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington
  Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington PC , was the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a member of the Whig Party in the parliament and was known for his wit and writing.-Family:...
  
   (3 November 1756 – 1 July 1757)
• Sir Charles Pratt
  Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden
  Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl of Camden...
  
   (1 July 1757 – 25 January 1762)
• Charles Yorke
  Charles Yorke
  Charles Yorke was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Life:The second son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, he was born in London, and was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His literary abilities were shown at an early age by his collaboration with his brother Philip in the...
  
   (25 January 1762 – 16 December 1763)
• Sir Fletcher Norton
  Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley
  Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley PC was an English politician.He was the eldest son of Thomas Norton of Grantley, Yorkshire. He became a barrister in 1739, and, after a period of inactivity, built up a profitable practice, becoming a King's Counsel in 1754, and later attorney-general for the...
  
   (16 December 1763 – 17 September 1765)
• Charles Yorke
  Charles Yorke
  Charles Yorke was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Life:The second son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, he was born in London, and was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His literary abilities were shown at an early age by his collaboration with his brother Philip in the...
  
   (17 September 1765 – 6 August 1766)
• William de Grey
  William de Grey, 1st Baron Walsingham
  William de Grey, 1st Baron Walsingham KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas between 1771 and 1780....
  
   (6 August 1766 – 26 January 1771)
• Edward Thurlow
  Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow
  Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow PC, KC was a British lawyer and Tory politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for fourteen years and under four Prime Ministers.- Early life:...
  
   (26 January 1771 – 11 June 1778)
• Alexander Wedderburn
  Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn
  Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1793 to 1801.-Life:He was the eldest son of Peter Wedderburn , and was born in East Lothian....
  
   (11 June 1778 – 21 July 1780)
• James Wallace
  James Wallace (politician)
  James Wallace was an English barrister, Member of Parliament, Solicitor General and Attorney General.-Life:The son of Thomas Wallace, of Asholme, Northumberland, attorney-at-law, Wallace was called to the Bar in 1757. In 1770, he was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for Horsham in Sussex...
  
   (21 July 1780 – 18 April 1782)
• Lloyd Kenyon
  Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon
  Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, PC, SL, KC was a British politician and barrister, who served as Attorney General, Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice. Born to a country gentleman, he was initially educated in Hanmer before moving to Ruthin School aged 12...
  
   (18 April 1782 – 2 May 1783)
• James Wallace
  James Wallace (politician)
  James Wallace was an English barrister, Member of Parliament, Solicitor General and Attorney General.-Life:The son of Thomas Wallace, of Asholme, Northumberland, attorney-at-law, Wallace was called to the Bar in 1757. In 1770, he was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for Horsham in Sussex...
  
   (2 May 1783 – November 1783) (died in office)
• John Lee
  John Lee (Attorney-General)
  John Lee KC was an English lawyer, politician, and law officer of the Crown. He assisted in the early days of Unitarianism in England.-Life:...
  
   (22 November 1783 – 19 December 1783)
• Lloyd Kenyon
  Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon
  Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, PC, SL, KC was a British politician and barrister, who served as Attorney General, Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice. Born to a country gentleman, he was initially educated in Hanmer before moving to Ruthin School aged 12...
  
   (26 December 1783 – 31 March 1784)
• Richard Arden (31 March 1784 – 28 June 1788)
• Sir Archibald Macdonald
  Archibald Macdonald
  Sir Archibald Macdonald, 1st Baronet was a British lawyer and politician.-Family:Archibald Macdonald was the posthumous son of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and younger brother of the 8th baronet , but was bought to England in the aftermath of Culloden to complete his education at...
  
   (28 June 1788 – 14 February 1793)
• Sir John Scott
  John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon
  John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
  
   (14 February 1793 – 18 July 1799)
• Sir John Mitford
  John Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale
  John Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale PC, KC, FRS , known as Sir John Mitford between 1793 and 1802, was a British lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the House of Commons between 1801 and 1802 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland between 1802 and 1806.-Background:Born in London, Mitford was the...
  
   (18 July 1799 – 14 February 1801)

19th century

• Sir Edward Law
  Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough
  Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough PC KC was an English judge. After serving as a Member of Parliament and Attorney General, he became Lord Chief Justice.-Early life:...
  
   (14 February 1801 – 15 April 1802)
• Spencer Perceval
  Spencer Perceval
  Spencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
  
   (15 April 1802 – 12 February 1806)
• Sir Arthur Piggott (12 February 1806 – 1 April 1807)
• Sir Vicary Gibbs
  Vicary Gibbs
  Sir Vicary Gibbs, KC was an English judge and politician. He was known for his caustic wit, which won for him the sobriquet of "Vinegar Gibbs".-Early life and education :...
  
   (1 April 1807 – 26 June 1812)
• Sir Thomas Plumer
  Thomas Plumer
  Sir Thomas Plumer MR was a British judge and politician , the first Vice Chancellor of England and later Master of the Rolls....
  
   (26 June 1812 – 4 May 1813)
• Sir William Garrow
  William Garrow
  Sir William Garrow KC, PC, FRS was a British barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations today...
  
   (4 May 1813 – 7 May 1817)
• Sir Samuel Shepherd
  Samuel Shepherd
  Sir Samuel Shepherd KS PC was a British barrister, judge and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales and Lord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer...
  
   (7 May 1817 – 24 July 1819)
• Sir Robert Gifford
  Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford
  Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford was a British lawyer, judge and politician.Gifford was elected to the House of Commons for Eye in 1817, a seat he represented until 1824, and served under the Earl of Liverpool as Solicitor General between 1817 and 1819 and as Attorney General between 1819 and 1824...
  
   (24 July 1819 – 9 January 1824)
• Sir John Singleton Copley
  John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst
  John Singleton Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst PC KS FRS , was a British lawyer and politician. He was three times Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...
  
   (9 January 1824 – 20 September 1826)
• Sir Charles Wetherell
  Charles Wetherell
  Sir Charles Wetherell , was an English lawyer, politician and judge.Wetherell was born in Oxford, the third son of Reverend Nathan Wetherell, of Durham, Master of the University College and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford...
  
   (20 September 1826 – 27 April 1827)
• Sir James Scarlett
  James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger
  James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger was an English lawyer, politician and judge.-Background and education:...
  
   (27 April 1827 – 19 February 1828)
• Sir Charles Wetherell
  Charles Wetherell
  Sir Charles Wetherell , was an English lawyer, politician and judge.Wetherell was born in Oxford, the third son of Reverend Nathan Wetherell, of Durham, Master of the University College and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford...
  
   (19 February 1828 – 29 June 1829)
• Sir James Scarlett
  James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger
  James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger was an English lawyer, politician and judge.-Background and education:...
  
   (29 June 1829 – 19 November 1830)
• Sir Thomas Denman
  Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
  Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.-Background and education:Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman...
  
   (24 November 1830 – 26 November 1832)
• Sir William Horne
  William Horne (Liberal politician)
  Sir William Horne was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Background and education:The son of the Reverend Thomas Horne of Chiswick, Horne studied law at Lincoln's Inn, being called to the Bar in 1798....
  
   (26 November 1832 – 1 March 1834)
• Sir John Campbell
  John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell
  John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell PC, KC was a British Liberal politician, lawyer, and man of letters.-Background and education:...
  
   (1 March 1834 – 14 November 1834)
• Sir Frederick Pollock
  Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet
  Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet PC , was a British lawyer and Tory politician.-Background and education:...
  
   (17 December 1834 – 8 April 1835)
• Sir John Campbell
  John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell
  John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell PC, KC was a British Liberal politician, lawyer, and man of letters.-Background and education:...
  
   (30 April 1835 – 3 July 1841)
• Sir Thomas Wilde (3 July 1841 – 30 August 1841)
• Sir Frederick Pollock
  Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet
  Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet PC , was a British lawyer and Tory politician.-Background and education:...
  
   (6 September 1841 – 15 April 1844)
• Sir William Webb Follett
  William Webb Follett
  Sir William Webb Follett , was an English lawyer and politician.-Background and education:Follett was born at Topsham in Devon, the son of Captain Benjamin Follett, who had retired from the army in 1790 and gone into business, and his wife Ann Webb, daughter of John Webb. His younger brother was...
  
   (15 April 1844 – 29 June 1845)
• Sir Frederic Thesiger
  Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford
  Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford PC KC FRS was a British jurist and Conservative politician. He was twice Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Early life:...
  
   (29 June 1845 – 27 June 1846)
• Sir Thomas Wilde (7 July 1846 – 17 July 1846)
• Sir John Jervis
  John Jervis (politician)
  Sir John Jervis was an English lawyer, law reformer and Attorney General in the administration of Lord John Russell...
  
   (17 July 1846 – 11 July 1850)
• Sir John Romilly
  John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly
  John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly PC, QC , known as Sir John Romilly between 1848 and 1866, was an English Whig politician and judge. He served in Lord John Russell's first administration as Solicitor-General from 1848 to 1850 and as Attorney-General from 1850 and 1851...
  
   (11 July 1850 – 28 March 1851)
• Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt
  Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet
  Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet Q.C. was a Scottish lawyer, politician and judge. A notorious womaniser and socialite, as Lord Chief Justice he heard some of the leading causes célèbres of the 19th century.-Life:Cockburn was born in Alţâna, in what is now Romania and was then...
  
   (28 March 1851 – 21 February 1852)
• Sir Frederic Thesiger
  Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford
  Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford PC KC FRS was a British jurist and Conservative politician. He was twice Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Early life:...
  
   (27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852)
• Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt
  Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet
  Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet Q.C. was a Scottish lawyer, politician and judge. A notorious womaniser and socialite, as Lord Chief Justice he heard some of the leading causes célèbres of the 19th century.-Life:Cockburn was born in Alţâna, in what is now Romania and was then...
  
   (28 December 1852 – 15 November 1856)
• Sir Richard Bethell
  Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
  Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury PC, QC , was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1861 and 1865.-Background and education:...
  
   (15 November 1856 – 21 February 1858)
• Sir Fitzroy Kelly
  Fitzroy Kelly
  Sir Fitzroy Edward Kelly PC, KC , was an English commercial lawyer, Tory politician and judge.-Background and education:...
  
   (21 February 1858 – 11 June 1859)
• Sir Richard Bethell
  Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
  Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury PC, QC , was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1861 and 1865.-Background and education:...
  
   (18 June 1859 – 4 July 1861)
• Sir William Atherton
  William Atherton (MP)
  Sir William Atherton QC was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician. An advanced Liberal who favoured the secret ballot and widening of suffrage, he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1852 to 1864, and was a Law Officer of the Crown for four years.- Career :Atherton was the son of...
  
   (4 July 1861 – 2 October 1863)
• Sir Roundell Palmer
  Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne
  Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne PC , was a British lawyer and politician. He served twice as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...
  
   (2 October 1863 – 26 June 1866)
• Sir Hugh Cairns
  Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns
  Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns PC, QC was a British statesman who served as Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom during the first two ministries of Benjamin Disraeli. He was one of the most prominent Conservative statesmen in the House of Lords during this period of Victorian politics...
  
   (10 July 1866 – 29 October 1866)
• Sir John Rolt
  John Rolt
  Sir John Rolt PC QC was an English lawyer, Conservative politician and judge who served as Attorney General under Lord Derby.-Early life:...
  
   (29 October 1866 – 18 July 1867)
• Sir John Burgess Karslake
  John Burgess Karslake
  Sir John Burgess Karslake was an English lawyer and politician.The son of Henry Karslake, a solicitor and Confidential Secretary to the Duke of Kent, by his wife Elizabeth Marsh Preston, the daughter of Richard Preston, Q.C. and sometime M.P. for Ashburton, he was educated at Harrow...
  
   (18 July 1867 – 1 December 1868)
• Sir Robert Collier
  Robert Collier, 1st Baron Monkswell
  Robert Porrett Collier, 1st Baron Monkswell was an English lawyer, politician and judge.-Background and education:Collier was the son of a prominent merchant of Quaker extraction. He was educated at Oxford.-Career:...
  
   (12 December 1868 – 10 November 1871)
• Sir John Coleridge
  John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge
  John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.-Background and...
  
   (10 November 1871 – 20 November 1873)
• Sir Henry James
  Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford
  Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford GCVO, PC, QC , known as Sir Henry James between 1873 and 1895, was an Anglo-Welsh lawyer and statesman. Initially a Liberal, he served under William Ewart Gladstone as Solicitor General in 1873 and as Attorney-General between 1873 and 1874 and 1880 and 1885...
  
   (20 November 1873 – 17 February 1874)
• Sir John Burgess Karslake
  John Burgess Karslake
  Sir John Burgess Karslake was an English lawyer and politician.The son of Henry Karslake, a solicitor and Confidential Secretary to the Duke of Kent, by his wife Elizabeth Marsh Preston, the daughter of Richard Preston, Q.C. and sometime M.P. for Ashburton, he was educated at Harrow...
  
   (27 February 1874 – 20 April 1874)
• Sir Richard Baggallay
  Richard Baggallay
  Sir Richard Baggallay PC , was a British Conservative politician and judge of the Court of Appeal.-Background and education:...
  
   (20 April 1874 – 25 November 1875)
• Sir John Holker
  John Holker
  Sir John Holker QC was a British lawyer and politician. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Preston from 1872 until his death ten years later. He was first Solicitor General and later Attorney General in the second government of Benjamin Disraeli.- External links :...
  
   (25 November 1875 – 21 April 1880)
• Sir Henry James
  Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford
  Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford GCVO, PC, QC , known as Sir Henry James between 1873 and 1895, was an Anglo-Welsh lawyer and statesman. Initially a Liberal, he served under William Ewart Gladstone as Solicitor General in 1873 and as Attorney-General between 1873 and 1874 and 1880 and 1885...
  
   (3 May 1880 – 9 June 1885)
• Sir Richard Webster
  Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
  Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, GCMG, QC was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.-Background and education:...
  
   (27 June 1885 – 28 January 1886)
• Sir Charles Russell
  Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen
  Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...
  
   (9 February 1886 – 20 July 1886)
• Sir Richard Webster
  Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
  Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, GCMG, QC was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.-Background and education:...
  
   (5 August 1886 – 11 August 1892)
• Sir Charles Russell
  Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen
  Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...
  
   (20 August 1892 – 3 May 1894)
• Sir John Rigby
  John Rigby (politician)
  Sir John Rigby PC , was a British judge and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1894.-Background and education:...
  
   (3 May 1894 – 24 October 1894)
• Sir Robert Reid (24 October 1894 – 21 June 1895)
• Sir Richard Webster
  Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
  Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, GCMG, QC was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.-Background and education:...
  
   (8 July 1895 – 7 May 1900)

20th century

• Sir Robert Finlay
  Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay
  Robert Bannatyne Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay GCMG, PC, QC,MD was a British lawyer, doctor and politician who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...
  
   (7 May 1900 – 4 December 1905)
• Sir John Lawson Walton
  John Lawson Walton
  Sir John Lawson Walton KC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Family and education:John Lawson Walton was the son of the Reverend John Walton MA, a Wesleyan missionary in Ceylon who later preached at Grahamstown in South Africa and who became President of the Wesleyan Conference for...
  
   (12 December 1905 – 28 January 1908)
• Sir William Robson
  William Robson, Baron Robson
  William Snowdon Robson, Baron Robson PC was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1885 and 1910....
  
   (28 January 1908 – 7 October 1910)
• Sir Rufus Isaacs
  Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading
  Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, PC, KC , was an English lawyer, jurist and politician...
  
   (7 October 1910 – 19 October 1913)
• Sir John Simon
  John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon
  John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon GCSI GCVO OBE PC was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second. He is one of only three people to have served as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer,...
  
   (19 October 1913 – 25 May 1915)
• Sir Edward Carson
  Edward Carson, Baron Carson
  Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson PC, PC , Kt, QC , often known as Sir Edward Carson or Lord Carson, was a barrister, judge and politician from Ireland...
  
   (25 May 1915 – 19 October 1915) (resigned)
• Sir F. E. Smith
  F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
  Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead GCSI, PC, KC , best known to history as F. E. Smith , was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living...
  
   (3 November 1915 – 10 January 1919)
• Sir Gordon Hewart
  Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart
  Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart, PC was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom.-Background and education:...
  
   (10 January 1919 – 6 March 1922)
• Sir Ernest Pollock
  Ernest Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth
  Ernest Murray Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth KBE PC KC was a British Conservative Member of Parliament and Master of the Rolls.He was the MP for Warwick and Leamington from 1910 to 1923...
  
   (6 March 1922 – 19 October 1922)
• Sir Douglas Hogg
  Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham
  Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham PC was a British lawyer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
  
   (24 October 1922 – 22 January 1924)
• Sir Patrick Hastings
  Patrick Hastings
  Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings KC was a British barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhouse School until 1896, when his family moved to continental Europe...
  
   (23 January 1924 – 3 November 1924)
• Sir Douglas Hogg
  Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham
  Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham PC was a British lawyer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
  
   (6 November 1924 – 28 March 1928)
• Sir Thomas Inskip
  Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote
  Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote CBE, PC, KC was a British politician who served in many legal posts, culminating in serving as Lord Chancellor from 1939 until 1940...
  
   (28 March 1928 – 4 June 1929)
• Sir William Jowitt
  William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt
  William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt PC, KC , was a British Labour politician and lawyer, who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951.-Background and education:...
  
   (7 June 1929 – 26 January 1932)
• Sir Thomas Inskip
  Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote
  Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote CBE, PC, KC was a British politician who served in many legal posts, culminating in serving as Lord Chancellor from 1939 until 1940...
  
   (26 January 1932 – 18 March 1936)
• Sir Donald Somervell (18 March 1936 – 25 May 1945)
• Sir David Maxwell Fyfe
  David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir
  David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir GCVO, PC, KC, , known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as The Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combined an industrious and precocious legal career with political ambitions...
  
   (25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945)
• Sir Hartley Shawcross
  Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross
  Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, GBE, PC, KC was a British barrister and politician and the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal.- Early life :...
  
   (4 August 1945 – 24 April 1951)
• Sir Frank Soskice (24 April 1951 – 26 October 1951)
• Sir Lionel Heald
  Lionel Heald
  Sir Lionel Frederick Heald, QC, PC, was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician.At the 1950 general election, Heald was elected as Member of Parliament for the Chertsey constituency in Surrey...
  
   (3 November 1951 – 18 October 1954)
• Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller
  Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne
  Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne PC, QC , known as Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Bt, from 1954 to 1962 and as The Lord Dilhorne from 1962 to 1964, was an English lawyer and Conservative politician...
  
   (18 October 1954 – 16 July 1962)
• Sir John Hobson
  John Hobson (politician)
  Sir John Gardiner Sumner Hobson PC was a British Conservative Party politician.-Career:He was first elected to the House of Commons at a 1957 by-election in the Warwick and Leamington constituency, caused by the resignation due to ill-health of the Conservative MP and former Prime Minister,...
  
   (16 July 1962 – 16 October 1964)
• Sir Elwyn Jones
  Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones
  Frederick Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones CH, PC was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician.-Background and education:...
  
   (18 October 1964 – 19 June 1970)
• Sir Peter Rawlinson
  Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell
  Peter Anthony Grayson Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, PC, QC was an English barrister, politician and author. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Epsom for 23 years, from 1955 to 1978, and held the offices of Solicitor General and Attorney General for England and Wales and for...
  
   (23 June 1970 – 4 March 1974)
• Samuel Silkin
  Samuel Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich
  Samuel Charles Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich, PC, QC was a British Labour Party politician and cricketer....
  
   (7 March 1974 – 4 May 1979)
• Sir Michael Havers
  Michael Havers, Baron Havers
  Robert Michael Oldfield Havers, Baron Havers PC, QC was a British barrister and Conservative politician. From his knighthood in 1972 until becoming a peer in 1987 he was known as Sir Michael Havers.- Early life :...
  
   (6 May 1979 – 13 June 1987)
• Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Patrick Mayhew
  Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC is a British barrister, and Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford...
  
   (13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992)
• Sir Nicholas Lyell (10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997)
• Sir John Morris
  John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon
  John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC is a retired British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1959 to 2001 and Secretary of State for Wales from 1974 to 1979.-Background and education:...
  
   (6 May 1997 – 29 July 1999)
• The Lord Williams of Mostyn
  Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn
  Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, PC, QC, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet at the time of his sudden death in 2003.Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of...
  
   (29 July 1999 – 11 June 2001)

Twenty-first century

• The Lord Goldsmith
  Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith
  Peter Henry Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, PC, QC , is a former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. On 22 June 2007, Goldsmith announced his resignation which took effect on 27 June 2007, the same day that prime minister, Tony Blair, stepped down. Goldsmith was the longest...
  
   (11 June 2001 – 27 June 2007)
• The Baroness Scotland of Asthal
  Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal
  Patricia Janet, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, PC, QC is a British barrister, and served in many ministerial positions within the UK Government, most notably as the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life and career:Baroness Scotland was born in...
  
   (27 June 2007 – 11 May 2010)
• Dominic Grieve
  Dominic Grieve
  Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC MP is a British Conservative politician, barrister and Queen's Counsel.He is the Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield and the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life:Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of...
  
  (12 May 2010 – present)