Adam Gregg (born April 26, 1983) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 47th

lieutenant governor of Iowa This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Iowa. History Prior to 1990, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected in separate elections; since then they have run together on the same ticket. List See also * List of g ...

. He has held this position since 2019. Gregg previously served as Acting Lieutenant Governor from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Gregg served as

Public Defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

from 2014 to 2017. He was the Republican candidate for

Attorney General of Iowa The Attorney General of Iowa is the chief legal officer of the State of Iowa, United States. The office was created February 9, 1853. The Office of the Attorney General is housed in the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines; the attorney ge ...

in the November 2014 elections.

Early life, education, and family

Gregg was born in

Hawarden, Iowa Hawarden is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,700 at the time of the 2020 census. It is located on the Big Sioux River. History Hawarden was platted in 1882. It was named for Hawarden Castle, the Welsh home of s ...

. In 2006, Gregg graduated from Central College with a B.A. in political science and history. From 2006 to 2009, he attended

Drake University Law School Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...

on a full scholarship and graduated with high honors. While there, he earned the faculty's William and Ellen Cooney Hoye Award and was a junior staff member of the Drake Law Review.

Career

During his time at Central College, Gregg interned with the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, and

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. While attending

, he conducted legal research for

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

Chief Justice

Mark Cady Mark Steven Cady (July 12, 1953 – November 15, 2019) was an American jurist. He served on the Iowa Supreme Court for 21 years from 1998 to 2019. From 2011 to 2019, he was the chief justice of the court. He was the author of the court's opinion ...

. Gregg worked as a government relations attorney at the BrownWinick law firm in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

from 2009 until 2014, when he joined Iowa Governor Terry Branstad's office as a legislative liaison and policy advisor. He assisted in crafting the Governor's budget and policy agenda. Gregg was the Republican nominee for

in 2014. He lost to the long-time incumbent attorney general, Democrat

Tom Miller Tom Miller may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tom Miller (broadcaster) (1940–1993), American radio personality and emcee * Tom Miller (artist) (1945–2000), American artist *Tom Miller (travel writer) (born 1947), travel writer from Tucson * ...

. Gregg was appointed by Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fro ...

to serve as the Iowa State Public Defender on December 8, 2014.

Acting Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (2017–2019)

As the previous

Lieutenant Governor of Iowa This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Iowa. History Prior to 1990, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected in separate elections; since then they have run together on the same ticket. List See also * List of g ...

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn; born August 4, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Reynolds served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017. Bef ...

assumed Iowa's governorship when incumbent Governor

resigned to become

United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief United States, American United States Ambassador, diplomat to China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cush ...

. Due to ambiguities in Iowa's constitution and a controversial advisory opinion issued by Attorney General Tom Miller, there was some dispute regarding Reynolds' power to appoint a new lieutenant governor with the power to succeed her if she left office prior to the expiration of Branstad's unfilled term. To avoid the possibility of legal challenges, Reynolds appointed Gregg as acting

on May 25, 2017. Gregg was assigned all of the duties of Lieutenant Governor, but not the office itself, and so was not in the line of gubernatorial succession. Upon his appointment, it was reported that Gregg would be paid the salary set by Iowa law for the lieutenant governor position ($103,212).

Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (2019–present)

Gregg was sworn in as the 47th lieutenant governor of Iowa on January 18, 2019. He also became the first male to serve as the state's lieutenant governor since the departure of Robert T. Anderson in 1987.

Personal life

Gregg married his West Sioux High School sweetheart, Cari. They have two children, Jackson and Lauren.

Electoral history

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Adam 1983 births 21st-century American politicians Central College (Iowa) alumni Iowa Republicans Lieutenant Governors of Iowa Living people People from Hawarden, Iowa People from Johnston, Iowa Drake University Law School alumni Public defenders