Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General
June 1, 1997 -
Thurbert E. Baker was appointed Georgia's fifty-second Attorney General by then-Governor Zell Miller on June 1, 1997 following the resignation of then-Attorney General Michael Bowers. On November 3, 1998, he was elected to serve a four year term as Attorney General, and he was re-elected by the voters of Georgia on November 5, 2002 and November 7, 2006.
As Attorney General, Thurbert Baker has focused on fighting crime, corruption and consumer fraud. Attorney General Baker wrote and pushed Georgia's groundbreaking mortgage fraud statute through the General Assembly and has focused his office's efforts on prosecuting criminals scamming consumers and banks through the use of fraudulent real estate transactions. Baker also proposed Georgia's financial identity fraud statute, which allows him to prosecute scam artists that steal consumers' personal identifying or financial information.
Baker has fought to protect Georgia's children by proposing and successfully passing legislation that increased penalties for child pornographers and closed loopholes in Georgia's child pornography laws. He has also written and pushed through the General Assembly a bill that toughened penalties for domestic abusers, including a provision making it a crime to commit an act of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Thurbert Baker has also created the Open Government Mediation Program within the Attorney General's Office, which has helped numerous Georgians resolve their request for open access to government meetings and records without having to go to court. He has also teamed with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation to write handbooks for citizens, law enforcement and school officials on what records and proceedings must be open to the public.
Attorney General Baker has taken an active role in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), where he serves on the Executive Committee. He was elected by his colleagues to serve as President of the National Association of Attorneys General for the 2006 - 2007 term. He also serves as NAAG's representative to the American Bar Association's House of Delegates. Reflecting his special concern for victims of domestic violence, Baker has previously served as Chair of NAAG's Violence Against Women Committee and as an advisor to the Harrell Center for the Study of Domestic Violence at the University of South Florida.
In 1988, Thurbert Baker won the first of five elections to represent part of DeKalb County in the Georgia House of Representatives. In 1993, Governor Zell Miller elevated Baker to the position of House Floor Leader. While serving as Floor Leader for Governor Miller, Baker spearheaded the enactment of some of the most significant legislation in modern Georgia history, including the HOPE scholarship program and tough anti-crime measures such as Georgia's "Two Strikes and You're Out" law that puts the worst repeat violent offenders in prison for life without parole and legislation that imposed tougher sentences for drunk drivers.
Attorney General Baker was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975, where he was a member of the fencing team and the 1975 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) individual sabre champion. In 2002, the ACC recognized Baker as one of the top fencers in conference history, naming him to its fiftieth anniversary fencing team.
Thurbert Baker received his law degree from the Emory University School of Law in 1979. Since graduating from law school, Baker has engaged in a variety of legal practices, including serving as a lawyer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and managing his own law firm. In 2003, Black Enterprise Magazine named him one of America's top black lawyers.
Attorney General Baker is active in his community. He was a member of the DeKalb County Library Board for many years. He serves as a trustee for Ebenezer Baptist Church, and as a member of the boards of the National Medical Society at Emory University and the DeKalb College Foundation. He is a member of the Emory Law School Council, and serves on Emory University's Board of Visitors. In his capacity as Attorney General, Baker is a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia and a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission. For the past several years, Georgia Trend magazine has recognized Baker as one of Georgia's most influential citizens.
Attorney General Baker lives in Stone Mountain with his wife, Catherine. He has two daughters, Jocelyn and Chelsea.