" A Privilege to Serve :" North Dakota Attorney General Drew H . Wrigley
By Kylie Blanchard , Clearwater Communications
North Dakota Attorney General Drew H . Wrigley doesn ’ t take his position at the helm of the Office of the North Dakota Attorney General lightly , knowing the impacts of the work done to uphold the laws of the state . “ Our job is to defend and carry out the laws passed by the legislature and signed by our governor ,” Wrigley says . “ We are engaged , and we will be publicly engaged on the matters of our office and the matters of the public . We are going to talk about the complicated matters .”
He says transparency has been one of the cornerstones of his efforts in the office . “ We ’ re going to talk openly when there are things the legislature and public needs to know about . We are doing this to do our very best to discern and carry out the law as it was intended by the legislature and the state constitution .”
“ WHAT ABOUT LAW ?”
Wrigley , a fourth generation North Dakotan , was raised in Fargo and attended the University of North Dakota ( UND ). At the time , he wasn ’ t certain of his career pursuits , but as a freshman in college he knew he had a deep appreciation of history and policy . While sitting in a biology class it struck him , “ What about law ?”
He decided to pursue his undergraduate degree in economics and philosophy , graduating with honors from UND , and went on to attend American University , Washington School of Law in Washington , D . C . “ I felt like I got a really well-rounded education at UND , and in D . C . I felt every bit as prepared for the study of law ,” he notes .
While in law school , Wrigley returned to North Dakota each summer . Between his first and second year of law school , he clerked for Federal Judge Rodney Webb and worked in a private firm in Fargo , and between his second and third year , he clerked for the U . S . Attorney ’ s Office and a private law firm in Fargo . Following his graduation , he served in a clerkship in Delaware and then accepted a job as a prosecutor for the City of Philadelphia . “ I knew I was going to come back to North Dakota someday , but I wanted the experience of serving and prosecuting in a major city ,” he says . “ It was quite an experience and there was a lot packed into those five years . I had the unfair advantage that I was from North Dakota and that was a meaningful difference .”
In 1998 , he moved back to Bismarck with his wife , Kathleen , and in 2001 was appointed by President George W . Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as the state ’ s 17th U . S . Attorney . He served until 2006 , when he stepped down to join the private sector . From December 2010 to December 2016 , he served alongside North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple . “ I was privileged to serve as North Dakota Lieutenant Governor for six years ,” he notes .
He again joined the private sector before being nominated by President Donald J . Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate as North Dakota ’ s 19th United States Attorney . He also became the first North Dakotan to hold the office of U . S . Attorney twice . He held the office until 2021 when he stepped down to return to the private sector , serving as general counsel for his family ’ s industrial , mechanical , and commercial contracting companies , Wrigley Mechanical and DBT Mechanical .
Attorney General Drew H . Wrigley
BECOMING NORTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL
Wrigley says at the end of 2021 , he was contemplating running for the position of North Dakota Attorney General . “ On December 17 , Wayne Stenehjem called me and told me he wasn ’ t going to run and was going to be announcing it soon ,” he says . “ I was happy for him to have the opportunity to retire . It is still heartbreaking to think about how that all turned out .”
Stenehjem , the longest serving attorney general in state history , died unexpectedly at the end of January 2022 . “ My heart goes out to everyone who lost a friend and dedicated public servant ,” says Wrigley .
In February 2022 , Wrigley was appointed as the state ’ s 30th Attorney General by Governor Doug Burgum to serve the remainder of Stenehjem ’ s term of office . “ It was a privilege to take office as Attorney General , but certainly not the way you want to take the job ,” he says .
Wrigley was then elected to the position in the November 2022 general election to serve a four-year term .
SERVING NORTH DAKOTA
“ There have been some really interesting challenges over the past year ,” says Wrigley . “ We have worked hard on preparing our budget , plans for the future , and priorities of the office .”
In preparation for the 2023 Legislative Session , Wrigley says the attorney general ’ s office focused on expressing its needs ,
8 THE GAVEL