Concept

John Ashcroft

Summary
John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th Governor of Missouri, he later founded the Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm. Ashcroft previously served as Auditor of Missouri (1973–1975) and Attorney General of Missouri (1977–1985). As Missouri Governor (1985–1993), he was elected for two consecutive terms (a historical first for a Republican candidate in the state). He also served one term as a U.S. Senator from Missouri (1995–2001). Ashcroft had early appointments in Missouri state government and was mentored by John Danforth. He has written several books about politics and ethics. Since 2011 he sits on the board of directors for the private military company Academi (formerly Blackwater) and is a professor at the Regent University School of Law, a conservative Christian institution affiliated with the late televangelist Pat Robertson; he has also been a member of the Federalist Society. His son, Jay Ashcroft, is also a politician, serving as Secretary of State of Missouri since January 2017. Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Grace P. (née Larsen) and James Robert Ashcroft. The family later lived in Willard, Missouri, where his father was a minister in an Assemblies of God congregation in nearby Springfield, served as president of Evangel University (1958–1974), and jointly as President of Central Bible College (1958–1963). His mother was a homemaker, whose parents had emigrated from Norway. His paternal grandfather was an Irish immigrant. Ashcroft graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1960. He attended Yale University, where he was a member of the St. Elmo Society, graduating in 1964. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School (1967). After law school, Ashcroft briefly taught Business Law and worked as an administrator at Southwest Missouri State University.
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