William Barr: Quick Facts

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American lawyer and government official William Barr served as attorney general of the United States during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush (1991–93) and Donald Trump (2019– ). Barr established a legal career as a partner in a Washington, D.C., law firm before joining the U.S. Justice Department in 1989. He rose from assistant attorney general to deputy attorney general before becoming attorney general in 1991, a post he held through 1993. In 2019 Barr was again sworn in as attorney general, becoming only the second person in U.S. history to serve twice in that position.

Facts

Also Known As	William Pelham Barr
Born	May 23, 1950 (age 76) • New York City • New York
Title / Office	attorney general (2019-2020), United States • attorney general (1991-1993), United States
Political Affiliation	Republican Party
Notable Family Members	son of Donald Barr • son of Mary Barr • married to Christine Moynihan Barr (1973–present) • father of Mary Daly • father of Patricia Barr Straughn • father of Meg McGaughey
Education	Horace Mann School (Bronx, New York) • Columbia University (B.A., 1971; M.A., 1973) • George Washington University Law School (J.D., 1977)

Did You Know?

Barr was the second person in U.S. history to serve twice as attorney general.
Barr is a longtime bagpipe player, and he participated in competitions in the 1980s as a member of the Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band; at the 2019 U.S. Attorneys' National Conference, Barr surprised attendees by breaking out the pipes for a rendition of "Scotland the Brave" before proceeding to his scheduled remarks.