Alberto R. Gonzales
| Alberto Gonzales | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 80th United States Attorney General | |
|
In office February 3, 2005 – September 17, 2007 |
|
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | John Ashcroft |
| Succeeded by | Michael Mukasey |
| White House Counsel | |
|
In office January 20, 2001 – February 3, 2005 |
|
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Beth Nolan |
| Succeeded by | Harriet Miers |
| Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court | |
|
In office January 3, 1999 – January 20, 2001 |
|
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Raul Gonzalez |
| Succeeded by | Wallace Jefferson |
| 100th Secretary of State of Texas | |
|
In office January 1, 1998 – January 3, 1999 |
|
| Governor | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Tony Garza |
| Succeeded by | Elton Bomer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 4, 1955 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education |
United States Air Force Academy Rice University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1973–1975 |
Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) was the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. He was the first Hispanic to serve as White House Counsel, and earlier he had been Bush's General Counsel during his governorship of Texas. Gonzales had also served as Secretary of State of Texas and then as a Texas Supreme Court Justice.
Gonzales's tenure as U.S. Attorney General was marked by controversy regarding warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens and the legal authorization of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" (i.e., much later, generally acknowledged as constituting torture), in the U.S. government's post-9/11 "war on terrorism". Following partisan calls for his removal, Gonzales resigned from the office "in the best interests of the department," on August 27, 2007, effective September 17, 2007. Democrats were particularly opposed to Gonzales presiding over the firings of several U.S. Attorneys who had refused back-channeled White House directives to prosecute political enemies — allegedly causing the office of Attorney General to become improperly politicized.
In 2008, Gonzales began a mediation and consulting practice. Additionally, he taught a political science course and served as a diversity recruiter at Texas Tech University. Gonzales is currently the Dean of Belmont University College of Law, in Nashville, Tennessee, where he currently teaches Constitutional Law, Separation of Powers, National Security Law and First Amendment Law. He is also counsel at a Nashville-based law firm, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where he advises clients on special matters, government investigations and regulatory matters. He often writes opinion pieces for national newspapers and appears on national news programs. He was ranked one of "Newsmax's 50 Most Influential Latino Republicans" in 2016.
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Wikipedia