Attorney General McDonnell was elected the 44th Attorney General of Virginia on November 8, 2005. He was inaugurated to this new post on January 14, 2006. As Attorney General of Virginia, McDonnell has focused on issues that will keep Virginia safe and strong, including enacting a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for violent sexual predators, cracking down on dealers who sell drugs to children, protecting Virginians from threats of terror, and internet crimes and identity theft.
Before his election as Attorney General, McDonnell represented the 84th District in the Virginia House of Delegates for 14 years, defeating a 20-year Democrat incumbent to win the seat in 1991. In the House of Delegates, McDonnell served as Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, which acts upon nearly twenty percent of the legislation introduced in the House.
In the General Assembly, Attorney General McDonnell was known as a leader on criminal justice and victims’ rights issues, as well as welfare, taxation and family policy. He was Chief Patron of Gov. Allen’s Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative, Chief Patron of Virginia’s historic Welfare Reform legislation, Chief Co-Patron of legislation to abolish the death tax in Virginia, Chief Patron of legislation to protect the Transportation Trust Fund, and Chief Patron of legislation to rewrite Virginia’s Public Private Partnership Act. He also authored legislation and secured funding for the creation of Virginia’s first Judicial Performance Evaluation Program to assist the General Assembly in evaluating and reappointing judges.
Attorney General McDonnell has served on many major policy reform commissions, including the 2005 Crime Commission Taskforce on Sexually Violent Predators (Chair), Governor Allen’s Commission to Abolish Parole, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Youth and Gang Violence, and the Governor's Commission on Environmental Stewardship.
Prior to being elected to the House of Delegates in 1991, Attorney General McDonnell served as a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorneys office. He holds an undergraduate degree in Management from Notre Dame, a Masters of Science Degree in Business Administration from Boston University, and a Masters Degree and Law Degree from Regent University. Attorney General McDonnell served 21 years in the U.S. Army, both active duty and reserves, and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He was a partner at the law firm of Huff, Poole & Mahoney, P.C for 14 years. He is married to the former Maureen Gardner and has five children, ages 17-27. His oldest daughter, Jeanine, recently served a tour of duty in Iraq, as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.