Former attorneys general are listed in reverse chronological order.
| Former Attorney General | Term of Service |
|---|---|
| Josh Stein | 2017 – 2025 |
| Roy A. Cooper | 2001 – 2016 |
| Michael F. Easley | 1993 – 2001 |
| Lacy H. Thornburg | 1985 – 1993 |
| Rufus L. Edmisten | 1975 – 1985 |
| James H. Carson, Jr. | 1974 – 1975 |
| Robert Morgan | 1969 – 1974 |
| Wade Bruton | 1960 – 1969 |
| Malcom B. Seawell | 1958 – 1960 |
| George B. Patton | 1956 – 1958 |
| William B. Rodman, Jr. | 1955 – 1956 |
| Harry McMullan | 1938 – 1955 |
| Aaron A. F. Seawell | 1935 – 1938 |
| Dennis G. Brummitt | 1925 – 1935 |
| James S. Manning | 1917 – 1925 |
| Thomas W. Bicket | 1909 – 1917 |
| Robert D. Gilmer | 1901 – 1909 |
| Robert D. Douglas | 1900 – 1901 |
| Zeb V. Walser | 1897 - 1900 |
| Frank I. Osborne | 1893 - 1897 |
| Theodore F. Davidson | 1885 - 1897 |
| Thomas S. Kenan | 1877 - 1885 |
| Tazewell L. Hargrove | 1873 - 1877 |
| William Marcus Shipp | 1870 - 1873 |
| Lewis P. Olds | 1869 - 1870 |
| William M. Coleman | 1868 - 1869 |
| Sion Hart Rogers | 1863 - 1868 |
| William A. Jenkins | 1857 - 1862 |
| William H. Bailey | 1857 |
| Joseph B. Batchelor | 1855 - 1856 |
| Matt Whitaker Ransom | 1853 - 1855 |
| William Eaton, Jr. | 1851 - 1852 |
| Bartholomew F. Moore | 1848 - 1851 |
| Edward Stanly | 1846 - 1848 |
| Spier Whitaker | 1842 - 1846 |
| Hugh McQueen | 1841 - 1842 |
| John Reeves Jones Daniel | 1835 - 1841 |
| Romulus Mitchell Saunders | 1828 - 1834 |
| Robert H. Jones | 1828 |
| James F. Taylor | 1825 - 1828 |
| William P. Drew | 1816 - 1824 |
| Hutchins Gordon Burton | 1810 - 1816 |
| William Miller | 1810 |
| Oliver Fitts | 1808 - 1810 |
| Henry Seawell | 1803 - 1808 |
| Blake Baker | 1795 - 1803 |
| John Haywood | 1792 - 1795 |
| Alfred Moore | 1782 - 1791 |
| James Iredell | 1779 - 1782 |
| Waightstill Avery | 1777 - 1779 |
