Attorney general
An Attorney General may be, depending on the legal and constitutional system of the jurisdiction, a government lawyer with the prime responsibility, under the executive, for prosecutions, and possibility the capacity to give advisory opinions.
Canada
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General are combined into one cabinet position in Canada. The Attorney General is the chief law officer of the Crown. The Minister of Justice is concerned with questions of policy and their relationship to the justice system.
The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (previously the Solicitor General) is a separate cabinet position and administers the police, prisons and security agencies of the federal government.
Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland the Attorney General is the principal law officer of the state and legal adviser to the Government of Ireland. He is not a member of the Government though he attends cabinet meetings. He is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of the Taoiseach. Before 1974 all crimes and offences were prosecuted at the suit of the Attorney General. Since then indictable criminal offences have been prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to Government is a constituent department of the Office of Attorney General.
See also: Chief State Solicitor
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom Attorney General is similarly the chief lawyer of the crown, and as such acts as prosecutor in criminal cases.
United States
In the Federal Government of the United States, the Attorney General is a member of the Cabinet and is the top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the government. The attorney general may need to be distinguished from the Solicitor General, a top lawyer with the responsibility of representing the government in the Supreme Court. In cases of exceptional importance, however, the Attorney General may choose to represent the government himself in the Supreme Court.
The individual U.S. states also have Attorneys General with similar responsibilities.
See also: District Attorney