Alberto R. Gonzales, the first Latino US Attorney General, was born on August 4, 1955, in San Antonio, Texas. He is the second of eight children to Pablo and Maria Gonzales. Gonzales attended the US Air Force Academy from 1975-1977 and later graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in 1979. He then earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1982.
Early Career
Gonzales served in the US Air Force from 1973-1975. After graduating from law school, he joined the firm of Vinson & Elkins from 1982-1995. He was also the president of the Houston Hispanic Bar Association from 1990-1991 and a board director for the Texas State Bar Association from 1991-1994.
Gonzales served as general counsel to Texas Governor George W. Bush from 1995-1997 and as a board trustee of the Texas Bar Foundation from 1996-1999. He was also the 100th Secretary of State of Texas from December 1997 to January 1999.
US Attorney General
Gonzales was nominated by President Bush to be Attorney General on November 10, 2004, and was confirmed by the US Senate on February 3, 2005. He served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States from February 2005 to September 2007.
During his tenure, Gonzales defended the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program and was involved in the controversy surrounding the removal of nine US attorneys in 2006. He announced his resignation on August 27, 2007, effective September 17, 2007.
Later Career
After leaving the Department of Justice, Gonzales began working as a visiting professor at Texas Tech University in 2009. He later became the dean of Belmont University’s College of Law in 2014, a position he held until May 2026.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
