List of Attorneys General of Louisiana
Encyclopedia
The office of Attorney General of Louisiana existed from the colonial period to the present. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the Attorney General is elected state-wide for a four year term and is the chief legal officer of the state. Additionally, "the attorney general shall have authority (1) to institute, prosecute, or intervene in any civil action or proceeding; (2) upon the written request of a district attorney, to advise and assist in the prosecution of any criminal case; and (3) for cause, when authorized by the court which would have original jurisdiction and subject to judicial review, (a) to institute, prosecute, or intervene in any criminal action or proceeding, or (b) to supersede any attorney representing the state in any civil or criminal action.
The attorney general shall exercise other powers and perform other duties authorized by this constitution or by law."
The current Attorney General, James D. "Buddy" Caldwell
has been in office since 2008.
The attorney general shall exercise other powers and perform other duties authorized by this constitution or by law."
The current Attorney General, James D. "Buddy" Caldwell
Buddy Caldwell
James David Caldwell, Sr., or Buddy Caldwell , is the Republican attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Prior to serving as attorney general, Caldwell was the district attorney for Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes from 1979 to 2008...
has been in office since 2008.
Territory of Orleans (1803-1812)
- John Mahlon Dickens 1804-1807
- James Brown 1807-1809
- Francois Xavier MartinFrancois Xavier MartinFrançois Xavier Martin , was an American jurist and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Born in France, he immigrated to North Carolina before the American Revolutionary War...
1809-1810 - Louis Moreau-Lislet 1810-1812
State of Louisiana 1812-Present
- Francois Xavier MartinFrancois Xavier MartinFrançois Xavier Martin , was an American jurist and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Born in France, he immigrated to North Carolina before the American Revolutionary War...
(Democratic-RepublicanDemocratic-Republican Party (United States)The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
) 1812-1815 - Etienne MazureauEtienne MazureauÉtienne Mazureau had a distinguished career as a French and later a Louisiana lawyer, serving three times as Attorney General of Louisiana and as Secretary of State of Louisiana....
(Democratic-RepublicanDemocratic-Republican Party (United States)The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
) 1815-1817 - Louis Moreau-Lislet (Democratic-RepublicanDemocratic-Republican Party (United States)The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
) 1817-1819 - Thomas B. RobertsonThomas B. RobertsonThomas Bolling Robertson was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana, the third Governor and the Attorney General of Louisiana, and a United States federal judge....
(Democratic-RepublicanDemocratic-Republican Party (United States)The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
) 1819-1821 - Etienne MazureauEtienne MazureauÉtienne Mazureau had a distinguished career as a French and later a Louisiana lawyer, serving three times as Attorney General of Louisiana and as Secretary of State of Louisiana....
(Clay-Adams RepublicanNational Republican Party (United States)The National Republicans were a political party in the United States. During the administration of John Quincy Adams , the president's supporters were referred to as Adams Men or Anti-Jackson. When Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828, this group went into opposition...
) 1821-1824 - Isaac Trimble Preston 1824-1828
- Alonzo Morphy 1828-1830
- George Eustis 1830-1833
- Etienne MazureauEtienne MazureauÉtienne Mazureau had a distinguished career as a French and later a Louisiana lawyer, serving three times as Attorney General of Louisiana and as Secretary of State of Louisiana....
(WhigWhig Party (United States)The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
) 1833-1841 - Christian RoseliusChristian RoseliusChristian Roselius was a Louisiana lawyer.-Biography:His early education was limited to the elementary schooling. In July 1820, he left Germany on board the bark “Jupiter” for New Orleans, having secured his passage by an indenture. He was then employed for several years in a printing office...
(WhigWhig Party (United States)The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
) 1841-1843 - Isaac Trimble Preston 1843-1846
- William Augustus Elmore 1846-1850
- Isaac JohnsonIsaac JohnsonIsaac Johnson was a U.S president.Born on his father's plantation "Troy" near St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, Johnson was the fourth son of John Hunter Johnson and Thenia Munson. Johnson's grandfather, Isaac Johnson, arrived in the area in the 1770s, and his father had a leading role in...
(Democrat) 1850-1854 - Isaac Edward MorseIsaac Edward MorseIsaac Edward Morse was a United States Congressman from Louisiana and Attorney General of Louisiana. He was born in Attakapas, Louisiana....
(Democrat) 1854-1856 - E. Warren Moise 1856-1860
- Thomas J. Semmes (Democrat) 1860-1864
- F. S. Goode 1864-1866
- Andrew S. Herron 1866-1867
- B. L. Lynch 1867-1869
- Simeon Beldon 1869-1873
- Alexander Pope FieldAlexander Pope FieldAlexander Pope Field was a United State politician.Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he studied law in Illinois and was admitted to the Illinois bar. From 1822 until 1828, he served in the Illinois House of Representatives. From 1829 until 1840, he served as Illinois Secretary of State...
1873-1876 - William H. HuntWilliam H. HuntWilliam Henry Hunt was the United States Secretary of the Navy under President James Garfield and briefly under President Chester A. Arthur.-Biography:...
(Republican) 1876 - Hiram R. Steele 1876-1877
- Horatio Nash Ogden 1877-1880
- James C. Egan 1880-1884
- Milton J. Cunningham 1884-1888
- Walter Henry Rogers 1888-1892
- Milton J. Cunningham 1892-1900
- Walter GuionWalter GuionWalter Guion was a United States Senator from Louisiana. Born near Thibodaux, he was tutored at home and then attended Jefferson College in St. James Parish...
(Democrat) 1900-1912 - Ruffin G. Pleasant (Democrat) 1912-1916
- Adolphe V. Coco 1916-1924
- Percy D. SaintPercy SaintPercy D. Saint was an lawyer and politician who served as the Louisiana attorney general from 1924 until 1932. He was an intraparty Democratic critic of Governor and U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr.-Background:...
1924-1932 - Gaston L. Porterlie 1932-1939
- James B. Ellison 1939
- Lessley P. Gardiner 1939-1940
- Eugene Stanley 1940-1944
- Fred S. LeBlancFred S. LeBlancFrederick Saugrain LeBlanc, Sr., known as Fred S. LeBlanc , was a 20th century politician in the U.S. state of Louisiana who served two terms as his state's attorney general and was firmly allied with the anti-Long faction of the predominant Democratic Party.-Background:LeBlanc graduated in 1916...
1944-1948 - Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr.Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr.Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr. , was the Democratic attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana from 1948–1952 during the administration of Governor Earl Kemp Long. He was allied with the Long faction in state politics....
1948-1952 - Fred S. LeBlancFred S. LeBlancFrederick Saugrain LeBlanc, Sr., known as Fred S. LeBlanc , was a 20th century politician in the U.S. state of Louisiana who served two terms as his state's attorney general and was firmly allied with the anti-Long faction of the predominant Democratic Party.-Background:LeBlanc graduated in 1916...
1952-1956 - Jack P.F. GremillionJack P.F. GremillionJack Paul Faustin Gremillion, Sr. , was the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1956-1972. He was a member of the Earl Kemp Long political faction. Though he opposed school desegregation, he was a party loyalist and was an elector for the John F. Kennedy--Lyndon B. Johnson presidential...
(Democrat) 1956-1972 - William J. GusteWilliam J. GusteWilliam J. "Billy" Guste, Jr., is a New Orleans attorney, businessman and popular Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1972 to 1992. He succeeded the scandal-plagued Jack P.F. Gremillion, a fellow Democrat who had held the position since 1956. Guste received recognition for molding the...
(Democrat) 1972-1992 - Richard IeyoubRichard IeyoubRichard Phillip Ieyoub, Sr. , is a Baton Rouge lawyer and a Democratic politician who was the attorney general of Louisiana from 1992 to 2004. Ieyoub was the Calcasieu Parish district attorney in Lake Charles from 1984 to 1992, and is presently with the Baton Rouge firm Couhig Partners...
(Democrat) 1992-2004 - Charles C. Foti. Jr. (Democrat) 2004-2008
- James D. "Buddy" CaldwellBuddy CaldwellJames David Caldwell, Sr., or Buddy Caldwell , is the Republican attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Prior to serving as attorney general, Caldwell was the district attorney for Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes from 1979 to 2008...
(Republican) 2008–Present