Thurbert Baker

Thurbert Earl Baker (born December 16, 1952)[2] was the first African American Attorney General of the U.S. state of Georgia. He was appointed to that position in 1997 by Governor Zell Miller[3] and served until January 10, 2011.

Thurbert Baker
46th Attorney General of Georgia
In office June 1, 1997 – January 10, 2011
Governor	Zell Miller Roy Barnes Sonny Perdue
Preceded by	Mike Bowers
Succeeded by	Sam Olens
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 70th district
In office January 11, 1993 – June 1, 1997
Preceded by	John T. Simpson
Succeeded by	Stan Watson
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 51st district
In office January 9, 1989 – January 11, 1993
Preceded by	Ken Workman
Succeeded by	Billy McKinney
Personal details
Born	Thurbert Earl Baker[1] (1952-12-16) December 16, 1952 Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Catherine Baker
Alma mater	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) Emory University (JD)

Governor Zell Miller installed his chief state House lieutenant, Rep. Thurbert Baker, as attorney general on June 1, 1997 making him the first African-American to hold that job in Georgia and the only black state attorney general in the country at that time. Baker was elected to his position three times[3] as a Democrat. In the 2006 general election, Baker received more votes and a higher percentage than any other Georgia Democrat running statewide.

Legislature

Baker served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1989 to 1997. From 1993, until his appointment as Attorney General, he was the Miller Administration's House Floor Leader. During his legislative tenure, Baker sponsored several significant legislative initiatives. Chief among those were the HOPE Scholarship and the "Two Strikes and You're Out" law, designed to put the worst repeat violent felons in prison for life without parole.

Attorney General

Baker served as the President of the National Association of Attorneys General from 2006 to 2007. As Attorney General, Baker focused on initiatives to fight crime and fraud, including stronger laws against sexual predators who use the Internet to target children, laws against financial identity theft, and stronger laws against residential mortgage fraud. He also advocated for the abolition of parole for persons convicted of violent crimes, which the Georgia General Assembly did not enact.

In 2003, Baker and Governor Sonny Perdue clashed in court, with both claiming the right to control the state's legal affairs. The controversy involved gerrymandering, and arose when Perdue ordered Baker to drop an appeal of a case involving a legal challenge to a legislative redistricting map drawn by the Democratic legislative majority and signed into law by Perdue's Democratic predecessor, Roy Barnes. When Baker refused to drop the appeal, Perdue sued him. The Supreme Court of Georgia ultimately sided with Baker, ruling 5-2 that the Attorney General, as an elected constitutional officer, is independent of the Governor and has the power to control the state government's legal affairs.

In 2010, Perdue and Baker clashed again when Perdue asked Baker to sue the federal government over the passage of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obama Care"). Baker declined, arguing that he saw no legal basis for the suit, believed it would ultimately fail, and decrying it as a "frivilous waste of taxpayer money". In response, Perdue appointed a "special" Attorney General for that purpose. Some Republican state lawmakers subsequently introduced legislation to impeach Baker for his refusal.

2010 Campaign

In 2010, Baker ran for Governor. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by former Gov. Roy Barnes.[3][4] Barnes was defeated in the general election, later that year, in a Republican sweep of statewide offices.

Personal

Baker was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 1952. He grew up with Mike Easley, the former Governor of North Carolina and former Attorney General of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, the current Attorney General of North Carolina, and Gregory O. Griffin, the current Chief Legal Counsel for the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. While attending the University of North Carolina, Baker was on the fencing team, and won the 1975 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) individual sabre championship. In 2002, the ACC recognized him as one of the best fencers in its history, naming him to its 50th anniversary fencing team. Baker moved to Georgia in the 1970s to practice law.

Baker and his wife, Catherine, an educator, reside in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain. They have two daughters. He is a practicing Baptist and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Education

• J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1979
• Bachelor of Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1975

References

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Class of 1975) Commencement, page 72
2. http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=Thurbert+Baker+1952&btnG=Search+Books#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1&source=hp&q=+BAKER%2C+THURBERT+E.+Attorney+general.+Personal%3A+Born+Dec+16%2C+1952%2C+Rocky+Mount%2C+NC&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=cc7216a82c53364
3. Kapochunas, Rachel (2009-04-02). "Georgia Attorney General Joins Race for Governor". Congressional Quarterly. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
4. AJC: Statewide election results Archived 2010-07-24 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• CNN Story about the Genarlow Wilson Case
• Official site

Legal offices
Preceded by Mike Bowers	Attorney General of Georgia 1997–2011	Succeeded by Sam Olens