Griffin B. Bell

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Griffin B. Bell (portrait in Justice Department)

Griffin Boyette Bell (born October 31, 1918 in Americus , Georgia , † January 5, 2009 in Atlanta , Georgia) was an American lawyer , attorney general (Attorney General) and politician ( Democratic Party ).

Life

Studies, World War II and professional career

Bell graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon , from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) cum laude . During World War II he served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946 , where he last reached the rank of major .

After the war, he was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1947 and then practiced as a lawyer in Savannah and Rome before moving to the law firm King & Spalding in Atlanta in 1953 . In addition to his legal work, he was honorary chief of staff to the Governor of Georgia , Ernest Vandiver, from January 1959 to October 1961 . Subsequently, US President John F. Kennedy appointed him a judge at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit , the federal appeals court for the fifth district, which is responsible for appeals in several counties of Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas , among other things .

He resigned from this position after almost 15 years of activity in March 1976 in order to return to the law firm as a senior partner for a few months.

Political career

Attorney General under President Carter

After the election of Jimmy Carter as US President, he was appointed by him on January 25, 1977 as Attorney General in his cabinet . In the aftermath of the Watergate affair , his appointment as a southerner and friend of the president was initially considered controversial. At the end of his tenure, however, he received bipartisan praise for his previous criticism in the US Senate and in the mass media . During his tenure, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was created in 1978 . In addition, he advised the President on the nomination of federal judges, and he also succeeded in promoting the nomination of women and minorities.

On August 16, 1979 he resigned as Minister of Justice and was replaced in this office by his previous deputy Benjamin R. Civiletti .

Later public offices

After his resignation as Minister of Justice, he was appointed special envoy for the Helsinki Final Act by the President.

In the following years, Bell was also increasingly active as an advisor to Republican governments. As such, he was a member of Secretary of State George Shultz's Advisory Committee on South Africa during President Ronald Reagan's tenure from 1985 to 1987 .

Two years later, President George Bush appointed him vice chairman of the Presidential Commission on Ethics Reform . President Bush also appointed him his advisor during the investigation into the Iran-Contra affair . In 2004 he was finally a supporter of George W. Bush when he ran for president again.

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personal data
SURNAME Bell, Griffin B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bell, Griffin Boyette (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer, attorney general and politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Americus , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH January 5, 2009
Place of death Atlanta , Georgia