Mary Beth Buchanan

Mary Beth Buchanan
Official Justice Department photo
United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania
In office September 14, 2001 – November 16, 2009
Preceded by	Fred Thieman
Succeeded by	Robert S. Cessar
Personal details
Born	(1963-07-25) July 25, 1963 (age 53) Roscoe, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Thomas C. Buchanan
Alma mater	Bachelors, California University of Pennsylvania. Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Profession	Politician U.S. Attorney

Mary Beth Buchanan, née Kotcella, (born July 25, 1963), is the former United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She was nominated by George W. Bush on September 5, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2001.

Buchanan was the first woman and youngest person ever in Pennsylvania's history to be appointed to this position, and she has been viewed by some, such as former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former U.S. Attorney Fred Thieman, as one of the more controversial U.S. Attorneys in the history of Pennsylvania. Under Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, Buchanan continuously held two key Justice Department posts, splitting time between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh up until her resignation as Acting Director of the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women in December 2007. In May 2010, Buchanan, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, was defeated in the Republican primary.

Buchanan is a native of suburban Roscoe, Pennsylvania. She is a 1984 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, and a 1987 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Her second husband, Thomas C. Buchanan, whom she married after divorcing her first husband, is the grandson of the founder of the Buchanan Ingersoll law firm. The firm, in which he is a partner, is now called Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.