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His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the
government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
. They are the deputy of the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, whose duty is to advise the
Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
and
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
on the law. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's absence. Despite the title, the position is usually held by a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...
as opposed to a
solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
. There is also a Solicitor General for Scotland, who is the deputy of the
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
. As well as the Sovereign's Solicitor General, the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...
and a Queen consort (when the Sovereign is male) are also entitled to have an Attorney and Solicitor General, though the present Prince of Wales has only an Attorney General and no Solicitor General. The Solicitor General is addressed in court as "Mr Solicitor" or "Ms Solicitor". The Solicitor General is shadowed by the
Shadow Solicitor General The Shadow Solicitor General is a member of the Official Opposition frontbench. Responsibilities The Shadow Solicitor General shadows the Solicitor General for England and Wales and deputises for the Shadow Attorney General for England and Wale ...
who sits on the
Official Opposition frontbench The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition fron ...
. The role is held by
Michael Tomlinson Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (born 1 October 1977) is a British politician serving as Solicitor General for England and Wales since September 2022. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from July to September 2022. He has been the M ...
, who was appointed by Prime Minister
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...
on 7 September 2022.


Solicitors-General of England (and Wales), 1461–present


15th century

''incomplete'' * Richard Fowler 1461–1470 *
Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent Hu ...
1470-1483 * Thomas Lynon 1483–1485 *
Andrew Dimmock Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
1485–1503


16th century

*
Thomas Lucas Thomas Lucas (c.1720–1784) MP, was a West India merchant, treasurer of Guy's Hospital 1764–1774 and then president of its board of governors until his death. Business interests His directorships included the Union Society in 1759, the Sout ...
1503–1507 *
John Ernley Sir John Ernley (or Ernle) (1464 – 22 April 1520) was a British justice. He was educated at one of the Inns of Chancery from 1478 to 1480 before being admitted to Gray's Inn. By 1490 he was a particularly conspicuous member of the "Sussex circl ...
1507–1514 * John Port 1514–1521 *
Richard Lyster Sir Richard Lyster (c. 1480 – 14 March 1554) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Origins and early career Sir Frederick Madden in his "Remarks on the Monument of Sir Richard Lyster in St. Michael's Church Southampton, ...
1521–1525 *
Christopher Hales Sir Christopher Hales (died 1541) was an English judge and Master of the Rolls. Family The family of Hales was a most ancient one, deriving its name from Hales in Norfolk, where the ancestor of the father of Roger de Hales (1274–1313), Ralph d ...
1525–1531 * Baldwin Mallet 1531–1533 *
Richard Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...
1533–1536 *
William Whorwood Sir William Whorwood (c.1500 – 28 May 1545) was a landowner in Staffordshire and the neighbouring counties, a distinguished lawyer, and a politician in the reign of Henry VIII. He achieved the positions of Solicitor General and Attorney Gen ...
1536–1540 * Henry Bradshaw 1540–1545 * Edward Griffin 1545–1552 * John Gosnel 1552–1553 *
William Cordell Sir William Cordell (about 1522 – 17 May 1581) of Melford Hall in the parish of Long Melford, Suffolk, was an English lawyer, landowner, administrator and politician who held high offices under both the Catholic Queen Mary I and the ...
1553–1557 * Richard Weston 1557–1559 * William Rosewell 1559–1566 * Richard Onslow 1566–1569 * Sir Thomas Bromley 1569–1579 * Sir John Popham 1579–1581 * Sir Thomas Egerton 1581–1592 *
Sir Edward Coke ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
1592–1594 * Thomas Fleming 1595–1604


17th century

* Sir John Doderidge 1604–1607 * Sir Francis Bacon 1607–1613 * Henry Yelverton 1613–1617 * Sir Thomas Coventry 1617–1621 *Sir Robert Heath 1621–1625 * Sir Richard Shelton 1625–1634 * Sir Edward Littleton 1634–1640 * Sir Edward Herbert 1640–1641 *
Oliver St John Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life St John was the son of Oliver S ...
1641–1643 (continued to 1648 under parliament) * Sir Thomas Gardiner 1643–1645 *
Sir Geoffrey Palmer Sir Geoffrey Winston Russell Palmer (born 21 April 1942) is a New Zealand lawyer, legal academic, and former politician, who was a member of Parliament from 1979 to 1990. He served as the 33rd prime minister of New Zealand for a little over a ...
1645–1649 *Sir Edmund Prideaux 1648–1649 * John Cooke 1649–1650 * Robert Reynolds 1650–1654 * William Ellis 1654–1660 *
Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Common ...
1660–1670 * Sir Edward Turnor 1670–1671 *
Sir Francis North Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford, PC, KC(22 October 1637 – 5 September 1685) was the third son of Dudley North, 4th Baron North, and his wife Anne Montagu, daughter of Sir Charles Montagu of Boughton House and Mary Whitmore. He was created ...
1671–1673 *
Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was a British philologist, a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India. He is particularly known for his proposition of th ...
1673–1674 *Sir Francis Winnington 1674–1679 * Heneage Finch 1679–1686 *
Sir Thomas Powys Sir Thomas Powys (1649 – 4 April 1719), of Henley, near Ludlow, Shropshire and Lilford cum Wigsthorpe, Northamptonshire, was an English lawyer, judge and Tory politician, who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 171 ...
1686–1687 * Sir William Williams 1687–1689 *
Sir George Treby Sir George Treby JP (1643–1700), of Plympton, Devon, and of Fleet Street in the City of London, was Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and six times Member of Parliament for the Rotten Borough of Plympton Erle, Devon, largely controlle ...
1689 * Sir John Somers 1689–1692 * Sir Thomas Trevor 1692–1695 * Sir John Hawles 1695–1702


18th century

* Sir Simon Harcourt 1702–1707 *
Sir James Montagu Sir James Montagu SL KC (2 February 1666 – 1723), of the Middle Temple, London, was an English lawyer and Whig politician, who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1695 and 1713. He became a judge and also served as Solicit ...
1707–1708 *
Robert Eyre Sir Robert Eyre (166628 December 1735) was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1698 to 1710. He served as Solicitor-General and then as a judge, and ultimately as Chief Justice of the ...
1708–1710 * Sir Robert Raymond 1710–1714 * Nicholas Lechmere 1714–1715 * John Fortescue Aland 1715–1717 *
Sir William Thomson William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did importan ...
1717–1720 * Sir Philip Yorke 1720–1724 * Sir Clement Wearg 1724–1725 * Charles Talbot 1726–1733 * Sir Dudley Ryder 1733–1737 * John Strange 1737–1742 * William Murray 1742–1754 * Sir Richard Lloyd 1754–1756 * Charles Yorke 1756–1762 * Sir Fletcher Norton 1762–1763 * William de Grey 1763–1766 * Edward Willes 1766–1768 * John Dunning 1768–1770 * Edward Thurlow 1770–1771 * Alexander Wedderburn 1771–1778 * James Wallace 1778–1780 * James Mansfield 1780–1782 * John Lee 1782 * Richard Pepper Arden 1782–1783 * John Lee 1783 * James Mansfield 1783 * Richard Pepper Arden 1783–1784 *
Archibald Macdonald Sir Archibald Macdonald, 1st Baronet (13 July 1747 – 18 May 1826) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. Early life He was the posthumous son of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and younger brother of the 8th baronet (see Baron Ma ...
1784–1788 *
Sir John Scott John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, (4 June 1751 – 13 January 1838) was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827. Background and education Eldo ...
1788–1793 * Sir John Mitford 1793–1799 *Sir William Grant 1799–1801


19th century

*
Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...
1801–1802 * Sir Thomas Manners-Sutton 1802–1805 * Sir Vicary Gibbs 1805–1806 * Sir Samuel Romilly 1806–1807 * Sir Thomas Plumer 1807–1812 *
Sir William Garrow Sir William Garrow (13 April 1760 – 24 September 1840) was an English barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations ...
1812–1813 *
Sir Robert Dallas Sir Robert Dallas, PC, SL KC (16 October 1756 – 25 December 1824) was an English judge, of a Scottish family. Life and career Robert Dallas was born at St Michael's, Cornhill, London. He and his brother George were educated first at James ...
1813 * Sir Samuel Shepherd 1813–1817 * Sir Robert Gifford 1817–1819 * Sir John Copley 1819–1824 * Sir Charles Wetherell 1824–1826 *
Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal Sir Nicolas Conyngham Tindal, PC (12 December 1776 – 6 July 1846) was a celebrated English lawyer who successfully defended the then Queen of the United Kingdom, Caroline of Brunswick, at her trial for adultery in 1820. As Chief Justice ...
1826–1829 * Sir Edward Sugden 1829–1830 * Sir William Horne 1830–1832 * Sir John Campbell 1832–1834 * Sir Charles Pepys 1834 * Sir Robert Rolfe 1834 *
William Webb Follett Sir William Webb Follett (2 December 179628 June 1845) was an English lawyer and politician who served as MP for Exeter (1835–1845). He served twice as Solicitor-General, in 1834-5 and 1841 and as Attorney-General in 1844. He was knighted i ...
1834–1835 * Robert Rolfe 1835–1839 * Sir Thomas Wilde 1839–1841 * Sir William Webb Follett 1841–1844 * Sir Frederic Thesiger 1844–1845 * Sir Fitzroy Kelly 1845–1846 * John Jervis 1846 * Sir David Dundas 1846–1848 * Sir John Romilly 1848–1850 * Sir Alexander Cockburn 1850–1851 * Sir William Page Wood 1851–1852 * Sir Fitzroy Kelly 1852 * Sir Richard Bethell 1852–1856 * James Stuart-Wortley 1856–1857 *Sir Henry Singer Keating 1857–1858 * Sir Hugh Cairns 1858–1859 *Sir Henry Singer Keating 1859 * Sir William Atherton 1859–1861 * Sir Roundell Palmer 1861–1863 * Sir Robert Collier 1863–1866 * Sir William Bovill 1866 * Sir John Burgess Karslake 1866–1867 * Sir Charles Jasper Selwyn 1867–1868 * Sir William Brett 1868 * Sir Richard Baggallay 1868 * Sir John Coleridge 1868–1871 * Sir George Jessel 1871–1873 * Sir Henry James 1873 * Sir William Harcourt 1873–1874 * Sir Richard Baggallay 1874 * Sir John Holker 1874–1875 * Sir Hardinge Giffard 1875–1880 * Sir Farrer Herschell 1880–1885 * Sir John Eldon Gorst 1885–1886 * Sir Horace Davey 1886 * Sir Edward Clarke 1886–1892 * Sir John Rigby 1892–1894 * Sir Robert Reid 1894 * Sir Frank Lockwood 1894–1895 * Sir Robert Finlay 1895–1900


20th century


2001–present

Colour key (for political parties):


See also

* Solicitor general *
Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...
* Law officers of the Crown


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solicitor General For England And Wales British lawyers Solicitor Law Officers of the Crown in the United Kingdom Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom Solicitors