Attorney General of Georgia

The attorney general of Georgia is the attorney and legal advisor for the executive branch of the U.S. state of Georgia. They are responsible for providing opinions on legal questions concerning the state, prosecuting public corruption cases, overseeing contracts on behalf of the state, as well as representing the state in all civil cases, in all capital felony appeals, and in all cases appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States. They may also initiate civil or criminal actions on behalf of the State of Georgia when requested to do so by the governor.

Attorney General of Georgia
State flag
Incumbent Christopher M. Carr since November 1, 2016
Type	Chief law enforcement officer
Term length	4 years
Formation	1754
First holder	William Clifton
Website	law.ga.gov

The officeholder is elected to a four-year term at the same time as elections are held for governor of Georgia and other offices.

The current attorney general of Georgia is Christopher M. Carr. Carr was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal following the resignation of Sam Olens, who was officially appointed to the office of president of Kennesaw State University on November 1, 2016. Carr completed Olens' unexpired term, which expired in January 2019. Carr was re-elected to a four-year term in Georgia's 2018 statewide elections and was reelected in the 2022 Georgia statewide elections.

List of attorneys general, 1754–present

Pre-statehood

#	Image	Name	Term of service
1		William Clifton	1754–1764
2		Charles Pryce	1764–1776
3		Williams Stephens	1776–1780
4		John Milledge	1780–1781
5		Samuel Stirk	1781–1785
6		Nathaniel Pendleton	1785–1786
7		Matthew McAllister	1787–1788

Post-statehood

#	Image	Name	Term of service	Political party
7		Matthew McAllister	1788–1791
8		George Walker	1792–1795
9		David Brydie Mitchell	1796–1806	Democraticic-Republican
10		Robert Walker	1807–1808
11		John Hamil	1808
12		John Forsyth	1808–1811	Democratic-Republican
13		Alexander M. Allen	1811
14		Richard H. Wilde	1811–1813	Democratic-Republican
15		Alexander M. Allen	1813–1816
16		Roger Lawson Gamble	1816–1822
17		Thomas F. Wells	1822–1827
18		George W. Crawford	1827–1831	Whig
19		Charles Jones Jenkins	1831–1834	Democratic
20		Ebenezer Starnes	1834–1840
21		James Gardner	1840–1843
22		John J. R. Flournoy	1843–1847
23		Alpheus Colvard	1847–1851
24		John Troup Shewmake	1851–1855
25		William R. McLaws	1855–1859
26		Alpheus M. Rogers	1859–1861
27		Winder P. Johnson	1861
28		William Watts Montgomery	1861–1865
29		George T. Barnes	1865–1866	Democratic
30		John Philpot Curren Whitehead	1866–1868
31		Henry P. Farrow	1868–1872	Republican
32		Nathaniel Job Hammond	1872–1877	Democratic
33		Robert N. Ely	1877–1880	Democratic
34		Clifford Anderson	1880–1890	Democratic
35		George N. Lester	1890–1891	Democratic
36		William A. Little	1891–1892	Democratic
37		Joseph M. Terrell	1892–1902	Democratic
38		Boykin Wright	1902	Democratic
39		John C. Hart	1902–1910	Democratic
40		Hewlett A. Hall	1910–1911	Democratic
41		Thomas S. Felder	1911–1914	Democratic
42		Warren Grice	1914–1915	Democratic
43		Clifford Walker	1915–1920	Democratic
44		R. A. Denny	1920–1921	Democratic
45		George M. Napier	1921–1932	Democratic
46		Lawrence S. Camp	1932	Democratic
47		M. J. Yeomans	1933–1939	Democratic
48		Ellis G. Arnall	1939–1943	Democratic
49		T. Grady Head	1943–1945	Democratic
50		Eugene Cook	1945–1965	Democratic
51		Arthur K. Bolton	1965–1981	Democratic
52		Michael J. Bowers	1981–1997	Democratic (1981–94)/Republican (1994–97)
53		Thurbert E. Baker	1997–2011	Democratic
54		Samuel S. Olens	2011–2016	Republican
55		Christopher M. Carr	2016–present	Republican

External links

• Georgia Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
• News and Commentary at FindLaw
• Georgia Code at Law.Justia.com
• U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Georgia" at FindLaw
• State Bar of Georgia
• Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens profile at National Association of Attorneys General
• Press releases at Georgia Attorney General's office