List of minority attorneys general in the United States

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This is a list of minority attorneys general in the United States. In the United States, an ethnic minority is anyone who has at least one parent who is not of non-Hispanic white descent (such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islands Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, or Native Americans). Ethnic minorities currently constitute around 41% of the total population.[1]

List of ethnic-minority federal attorneys general[edit]

  Denotes incumbent Attorney-General
  • Italics denotes acting Attorney-General
Portrait Name Minority Ethnicity Party Took office Left office President(s)
Eric Holder[2] African American
Barbadian American 		Democratic January 20, 2001 February 2, 2001 George W. Bush
February 3, 2009 April 27, 2015 Barack Obama
Alberto Gonzales Mexican American Republican February 3, 2005 September 17, 2007 George W. Bush
Loretta Lynch African American Democratic April 27, 2015 January 20, 2017 Barack Obama


List of ethnic-minority state attorneys general[edit]

  Denotes incumbent Attorney-General
  • Italics denotes acting Attorney-General
Picture Name Ethnicity Party State Term start Term end Notes
Robert B. Elliott African American
Afro-Caribbean 		Republican South Carolina December 14, 1876 May 29, 1877 Election disputed as part of 1876-77 South Carolina Government Dispute, forced out of office after the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction
Miguel A. Otero III[3] Mexican American Republican New Mexico 1929 1930
Filo M. Sedillo[4][5] Mexican American Democratic New Mexico 1939 1940
Joe L. Martínez Mexican American Democratic New Mexico 1949 1952
Shiro Kashiwa[6] Japanese American Hawaii 1959 1960
Bert T. Kobayashi[7] Japanese American Hawaii 1962 1969
Edward Brooke[8] African American Republican Massachusetts January 3, 1963 January 3, 1967 Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts
Bertram Kanbara Japanese American Hawaii 1969 1971
George Tai Hee Pai[9] Chinese American Hawaii 1971 1971
Ronald Amemiya[10] Japanese American Democratic Hawaii 1974 1978
Toney Anaya Mexican American Democratic New Mexico January 1, 1975 January 1, 1979 Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate
Wayne Minami[11] Japanese American Democratic Hawaii 1978 1981
Tany S. Hong[12] Korean American Democratic Hawaii 1981 1984
Corinne Watanabe Japanese American Democratic Hawaii 1985 1986
Larry Echo Hawk[13] Native American (Pawnee) Democratic Idaho January 7, 1991 January 2, 1995 Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Idaho
Dan Morales[14] Mexican American Democratic Texas January 15, 1991 January 13, 1999 Retired
Roland Burris[15] African American Democratic Illinois January 14, 1991 January 9, 1995 Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois
Pamela Carter African American Democratic Indiana January 13, 1993 January 16, 1997
Thurbert Baker[16] African American Democratic Georgia June 1, 1997 January 10, 2011 Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Georgia
Patricia A. Madrid[17] Mexican American Democratic New Mexico January 1, 1999 January 1, 2007 Term limited, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in New Mexico's 1st district
Ken Salazar[18] Mexican American Democratic Colorado January 12, 1999 January 3, 2005 Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate seat from Colorado
Earl I. Anzai Japanese American Democratic Hawaii 1999 2002
Karen Freeman-Wilson African American Democratic Indiana June 8, 2000 January 14, 2001
Brian Sandoval[19] Mexican American Republican Nevada January 6, 2003 October 26, 2005 Retired to become a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
Peter C. Harvey[20] African American Democratic New Jersey June 16, 2003 January 30, 2006 Retired.
Catherine Cortez Masto[21] Mexican American Democratic Nevada January 1, 2007 January 5, 2015 Term limited; ran successfully for U.S. Senate seat from Nevada
Kamala Harris[22] African American
Indian American
Jamaican American 		Democratic California January 3, 2011 January 3, 2017 Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate from California
David M. Louie[23] Chinese American Democratic Hawaii January 2011 December 1, 2014
Sean Reyes Filipino American
Native Hawaiian
Japanese American 		Republican Utah December 14, 2013 Incumbent
Russell Suzuki Japanese American Democratic Hawaii December 1, 2014 March 12, 2015 Acting
February 2, 2018 January 3, 2019
Hector Balderas[24] Mexican American Democratic New Mexico January 1, 2015 January 1, 2023 Term limited
Karl Racine[25] African American
Haitian American 		Democratic District of Columbia January 2, 2015 January 2, 2023
Doug Chin[26] Chinese American Democratic Hawaii March 12, 2015 February 2, 2018
Curtis Hill[27] African American Republican Indiana January 9, 2017 January 11, 2021 Lost renomination
Xavier Becerra[28] Mexican American Democratic California January 24, 2017 March 18, 2021 Retired to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
Gurbir Grewal[29] Indian American Democratic New Jersey January 16, 2018 July 19, 2021 Retired to become Enforcement Director at the Securities & Exchange Commission
Letitia James[30] African American Democratic New York January 1, 2019 Incumbent
Kwame Raoul[31] African American
Haitian American 		Democratic Illinois January 14, 2019 Incumbent
Aaron Ford[32] African American Democratic Nevada January 7, 2019 Incumbent
Keith Ellison[33] African American Democratic Minnesota January 7, 2019 Incumbent
William Tong[34] Chinese American
Taiwanese American 		Democratic Connecticut January 9, 2019 Incumbent
Daniel Cameron[35][36][37][38][39] African American Republican Kentucky December 17, 2019 January 1, 2024 Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Kentucky
Rob Bonta[40] Filipino American Democratic California April 23, 2021 Incumbent
Holly Shikada Japanese American Democratic Hawaii December 10, 2021 December 5, 2022
Jason Miyares[41] Cuban American Republican Virginia January 15, 2022 Incumbent
Raúl Torrez Hispanic American Democratic New Mexico January 1, 2023 Incumbent
Raúl Labrador Puerto Rican Republican Idaho January 2, 2023 Incumbent
Anthony Brown[42] African American
Jamaican American 		Democratic Maryland January 3, 2023 Incumbent
Andrea Campbell African American Democratic Massachusetts January 18, 2023 Incumbent
Angela Colmenero[43] Hispanic American Republican Texas July 10, 2023 September 16, 2023 *interim


Territorial attorneys general[edit]

Several attorneys general of U.S. territories have been ethnic minorities. Many of these officials were appointed before elections were instituted in these jurisdictions. In each of the five current U.S. territories, Hispanic or non-white ethnic groups make up large majorities: Puerto Rican Hispanic Americans in Puerto Rico, African Americans in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Chamorros in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and Samoans in American Samoa. Elected attorneys general and some appointed attorneys general in these territories that have come from these majority ethnic groups are not listed here; for more details see the lists in the articles for Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico, Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands, Attorney General of Guam, Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Attorney General of American Samoa.


  Denotes incumbent Attorney-General
  • Italics denotes acting Attorney-General
Picture Name Ethnicity Party State Term start Term end Notes
Michiro Watanabe[44] Japanese American Territory of Hawaii March 1, 1952 March 2, 1953 Retired
Shiro Kashiwa Japanese American Territory of Hawaii May 8, 1957 June 8, 1957 Would again serve as AG after Hawaii attained statehood
Herbert Choy Korean American Territory of Hawaii June 13, 1957 November 30, 1958
Jack H. Mizuha Japanese American Republican Territory of Hawaii December 16, 1958 1959
Luis Sánchez Betances Dominican American Puerto Rico January 2, 2013 December 28, 2013
Douglas Moylan Native Hawaiian
Chinese American 		Republican Guam January 6, 2003 January 3, 2007 Retired
January 18, 2023 Incumbent

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States". www.census.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Alleyne, George (August 21, 2018). "Eric Holder relaxing in Barbados". Caribbean Life. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  3. ^ Thompson, Mark. "IS ONE OF OUR ATTORNEYS GENERAL MISSING?" (PDF). New Mexico State Bar Association. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Raul A. Sedillo Obituary". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "Attorney General Balderas Searching for Relatives of Former Attorneys General". KRWG. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "FAMILY CONNECTIONS, MARCH ISSUE: Kashiwa Family" (PDF). Hawaii State Bar Association. March 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "Kobayashi, Bert". Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  8. ^ "The Honorable Edward Brooke's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "George Tai Hee Pai, 70, 'always made time for his family'". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Keith Amemiya: Political Outsider Or Establishment Insider?". Civil Beat. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  11. ^ "Transcending partisan boundaries". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  12. ^ "From Korea to Big Island: UH-Hilo professor publishes book on immigrants". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "Larry Echo Hawk Officially Sworn In as Interior's New Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs | Indian Affairs". www.bia.gov. May 22, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  14. ^ "Rise & Fall: Why Did Dan Morales Exchange Good Judgment for the Good Life?". Law.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "BURRIS , Roland | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Thurbert Baker's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  17. ^ Jessica Montoya Coggins (April 11, 2014). 'I'm From Here': Not All Hispanics Are Recent Arrivals. Published on NBC News.
  18. ^ Johnson, Kirk (June 11, 2006). "At Fore on Immigration, Senator Has a Story to Tell". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  19. ^ Pratt, Timothy (November 10, 2003). "Sandoval learns value of his mother tongue". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "The Honorable Peter C. Harvey, '79". www.alumni.morgan.edu. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Trout, Keith (August 14, 2015). "Senate candidate attends Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  22. ^ "13 Trailblazing Facts About Kamala Harris". mentalfloss.com. January 23, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  23. ^ Anderson, Dick (February 5, 2022). "Best Desk Job Ever". Occidental College. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  24. ^ Clarembaux, Patricia (October 6, 2016). "Héctor Balderas: the attorney general in cowboy boots who battles corruption in New Mexico". Univision News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  25. ^ "AG Racine & AG Raoul Urge Biden Administration to Expand Temporary Protected Status for Haitian Immigrants". oag.dc.gov. December 2, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  26. ^ Herreria Russo, Carla (March 30, 2017). "Chinese-American AG Suing Trump Shares Personal Stories Of Being Stereotyped". HuffPost. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Walker, Kayla (November 13, 2018). "Curtis Hill Named Vice Chair of GOP Attorneys General Assoc". Nuvo. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  28. ^ Schmidt, Samantha (March 14, 2018). "For Xavier Becerra, California's attorney general, the fight with Trump is personal". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  29. ^ Arco, Matt (December 12, 2017). "Phil Murphy to appoint nation's first Sikh attorney general". NJ.com. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  30. ^ Mays, Jeffery C. (December 31, 2018). "N.Y.'s New Attorney General Is Targeting Trump. Will Judges See a 'Political Vendetta?'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  31. ^ "Illinois Attorney General Democratic nominee: Kwame Raoul". Chicago Sun-Times. October 14, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  32. ^ Lockhead, Colton (November 14, 2018). "Aaron Ford setting priorities for his time as Nevada attorney general". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  33. ^ Montemayor, Stephen (January 7, 2019). "Keith Ellison ushers in new era for Minnesota Attorney General's Office". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  34. ^ Keating, Christopher (August 20, 2023). "When your elderly Connecticut mom gets scammed, what do you do? Start a crusade, of course". Hartford Courant.
  35. ^ "Daniel Cameron Sworn in As Attorney General". Spectrumnews1.com. December 17, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  36. ^ Baute, Sean (December 17, 2019). "Daniel Cameron sworn in as Kentucky attorney general". Wave3.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  37. ^ "Daniel Cameron becomes Kentucky's first African American attorney general". Wkyt.com. December 17, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  38. ^ Cooney, Lynnette (December 6, 2019). "Andy Beshear appoints Attorney General-elect Daniel Cameron to fill remainder of his term". Wymt.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  39. ^ "Cameron to be sworn in as Ky. AG on Dec. 17 | WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio". Whopam.com. December 7, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  40. ^ Hawkins, Stephen (April 23, 2021). "Gov. Newsom swears in Rob Bonta as Attorney General". KMPH. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  41. ^ Gamboa, Suzanne. "Republican Jason Miyares makes history as Virginia's first Latino attorney general". www.nbcnews.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  42. ^ "Maryland's first Black attorney general Anthony Brown to be sworn in Tuesday". WJLA-TV. January 3, 2023. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  43. ^ Svitek, Patrick (July 10, 2023). "Gov. Greg Abbott taps longtime aide Angela Colmenero as interim attorney general". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  44. ^ "Michiro Watanabe Obituary". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 9, 2024.

External links[edit]

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