List of Attorneys 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 England and Wales. The current Attorney General is Jeremy Wright.

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 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 and Treasury Counsel.

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

1900–2001

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour   Liberal   Liberal Unionist   National Labour   Ulster Unionist

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Sir Robert Finlay 7 May 1900 4 December 1905 Liberal Unionist Marquess of Salisbury
(Unionist Coalition)
Balfour
(Unionist Coalition)
Sir John Lawson Walton 12 December 1905 28 January 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman
Sir William Robson 28 January 1908 7 October 1910 Liberal
Asquith
(I)
Sir Rufus Isaacs 7 October 1910 19 October 1913 Liberal
Sir John Simon 19 October 1913 25 May 1915 Liberal
Sir Edward Carson 25 May 1915 19 October 1915 Ulster Unionist Asquith
(Coalition)
Sir F. E. Smith 3 November 1915 10 January 1919 Conservative
Lloyd George
(Coalition)
Sir Gordon Hewart 10 January 1919 6 March 1922 Liberal
Sir Ernest Pollock 6 March 1922 19 October 1922 Conservative
Sir Douglas Hogg 24 October 1922 22 January 1924 Conservative Law
Baldwin
Sir Patrick Hastings 23 January 1924 3 November 1924 Labour MacDonald
Sir Douglas Hogg 6 November 1924 28 March 1928 Conservative Baldwin
Sir Thomas Inskip 28 March 1928 4 June 1929 Conservative
Sir William Jowitt 7 June 1929 26 January 1932 Labour MacDonald
(II)
MacDonald
(First National ministry)
MacDonald
(Second National ministry)
Sir Thomas Inskip 26 January 1932 18 March 1936 Conservative
Baldwin
(Third National ministry)
Sir Donald Somervell 18 March 1936 25 May 1945 Conservative
Chamberlain
(Fourth National ministry)
Chamberlain
(War)
Churchill
(War)
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe 25 May 1945 26 July 1945 Conservative Churchill
(Caretaker)
Sir Hartley Shawcross 4 August 1945 24 April 1951 Labour Attlee
Sir Frank Soskice 24 April 1951 26 October 1951 Labour
Sir Lionel Heald 3 November 1951 18 October 1954 Conservative Churchill
Sir Reginald
Manningham-Buller
18 October 1954 16 July 1962 Conservative
Eden
Macmillan
Sir John Hobson 16 July 1962 16 October 1964 Conservative
Douglas-Home
Sir Elwyn Jones 18 October 1964 19 June 1970 Labour Wilson
Sir Peter Rawlinson MP 23 June 1970 4 March 1974 Conservative Heath
Samuel Silkin MP 7 March 1974 4 May 1979 Labour Wilson
Callaghan
Sir Michael Havers MP 6 May 1979 13 June 1987 Conservative Thatcher
Sir Patrick Mayhew MP 13 June 1987 10 April 1992 Conservative
Major
Sir Nicholas Lyell MP 10 April 1992 2 May 1997 Conservative
Sir John Morris MP 6 May 1997 29 July 1999 Labour Blair
The Lord Williams
of Mostyn
29 July 1999 11 June 2001 Labour

2001–present

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
The Lord Goldsmith 11 June 2001 27 June 2007 Labour Blair
The Baroness Scotland
of Asthal
27 June 2007 11 May 2010 Labour Brown
Dominic Grieve 12 May 2010 15 July 2014 Conservative Cameron
Jeremy Wright 15 July 2014 Incumbent Conservative
May

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 The Chronological Historian:Volume 2. p. 55.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Chronological Historian:Volume 1. p. 59.
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