John J. Degnan

John J. Degnan (born October 6, 1944, West Orange, New Jersey) was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1978 until 1981. He was vice chairman and chief operating officer of The Chubb Corporation until 2010, and in 2014 became Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

Degnan attended Our Lady of Lourdes Grammar School in West Orange and Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1966 and then attended Harvard Law School, receiving his J.D. degree in 1969. He resides with his wife Mary in Chester Township, New Jersey.

From 1969-71, Degnan served as law secretary to John J. Francis, associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He then joined the Newark law firm of Clapp & Eisenberg from 1971 to 1974.

Degnan was selected by New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne as assistant counsel in November 1974. He later served as Governor Byrne's executive secretary from March 1976 to March 1977, when he became special counsel to the Governor. After Byrne was elected to a second term, he announced Degnan's appointment as Attorney General. His nomination was confirmed in January 1978, and at 33 he was among the youngest ever to serve as Attorney General.

In 1981, Degnan resigned his position as Attorney General to run in the Democratic primary for Governor. The crowded field of 13 Democratic candidates included U.S. Representative James Florio, Newark Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson, New Jersey Senate President Joseph P. Merlino, U.S. Representative Robert A. Roe, and Jersey City Mayor Thomas F. X. Smith. Degnan was seen as Byrne's hand-picked successor and received the Governor's endorsement. But in the primary election Degnan received only 11 percent of the vote, finishing in fifth place behind Florio (26 percent), Roe (16 percent), Gibson (16 percent), and Merlino (11 percent).

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