Attorney General of Delaware
The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th Attorney General of Delaware.
Description of the office
The Attorney General elected to a four-year term in the "off-year" state election, two years before/after the election of the Governor. Along with the State Treasurer, State Auditor, and State Insurance Commissioner, the office is intended to serve as a restraint to the Governor's exclusive executive authority. The office existed in various forms prior to the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1776, which continued the existing colonial tradition of granting the Governor of Delaware the power to appoint the Attorney General for a five-year tenure. With the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, the post was converted to its present four-year elected form, also establishing the Attorney General as third in line of succession to the office of Governor, after the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State.Office Holders
was the first holder of the office after American independence. The office was held from 2007-2015 by Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, who was elected in 2006 and took office on January 2, 2007. He was a Democrat and the eldest son of Vice President and former senior U.S. Senator from Delaware, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.. The current incumbent is Kathy Jennings.Attorneys General of Delaware
| # | Name | Term Office | Political Party |
| 1 | Gunning Bedford Jr. | 1778-1790 | |
| 2 | Nicholas Ridgely | 1790-1801 | |
| 3 | Nicholas Van Dyke | 1801-1806 | Federalist |
| 4 | Outerbridge Horsey | 1806-1810 | Federalist |
| 5 | Thomas Clayton | 1810-1815 | Federalist |
| 6 | James Rogers | 1815-1830 | |
| 7 | Robert Frame | 1830-1835 | |
| 8 | James Rogers | 1835-1840 | |
| 9 | Edward W. Gilpin | 1840-1850 | |
| 10 | Willard Saulsbury, Sr. | 1850-1855 | Democratic |
| 11 | George P. Fisher | 1855-1860 | |
| 12 | Alfred Wooten | 1860-1864 | |
| 13 | Jacob Moore | 1864-1869 | |
| 14 | Charles B. Lore | 1869-1874 | Democratic |
| 15 | John B. Penington | 1874-1879 | Democratic |
| 16 | George Gray | 1879-1885 | Democratic |
| 17 | John Henry Paynter | 1885-1887 | |
| 18 | John Biggs | 1887-1892 | |
| 19 | John R. Nicholson | 1892-1895 | |
| 20 | Robert C. White | 1895-1901 | |
| 21 | Herbert H. Ward | 1901-1905 | |
| 22 | Robert H. Richards | 1905-1909 | |
| 23 | Andrew C. Gray | 1909-1913 | |
| 24 | Josiah O. Wolcott | 1913-1917 | Democratic |
| 25 | David J. Reinhardt | 1917-1921 | |
| 26 | Sylvester D. Townsend Jr. | 1921-1925 | |
| 27 | Clarence A. Southerland | 1925-1929 | |
| 28 | Reuben Satterthwaite Jr. | 1929-1933 | |
| 29 | Daniel J. Layton | 1933 | Republican |
| 30 | P. Warren Green | 1933-1939 | |
| 31 | James R. Morford | 1939-1943 | |
| 32 | Clair J. Killoran | 1943-1947 | |
| 33 | Albert W. James | 1947-1951 | |
| 34 | H. Albert Young | 1951-1955 | |
| 35 | Joseph D. Craven | 1955-1959 | Democratic |
| 36 | Januar D. Bove Jr. | 1959-1963 | Republican |
| 37 | David P. Buckson | 1963-1971 | Republican |
| 38 | W. Laird Stabler Jr. | 1971-1975 | Republican |
| 39 | Richard R. Wier Jr. | 1975-1979 | |
| 40 | Richard S. Gebelein | 1979-1983 | |
| 41 | Charles Oberly | 1983-1995 | Democratic |
| 42 | M. Jane Brady | 1995-2005 | Republican |
| 43 | Carl C. Danberg | 2005-2007 | Democratic |
| 44 | Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, III | 2007-2015 | Democratic |
| 45 | Matthew Denn | 2015-2019 | Democratic |
| 46 | Kathy Jennings | 2019-present | Democratic |