John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
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, Senator from Missouri, and Governor of Missouri. He later founded The Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.Ashcroft previously served as Attorney General of Missouri (1976–1985), and as the 50th Governor of Missouri (1985–1993), having been elected for two consecutive terms in succession (a historical first for a Republican candidate in the state), and he also served as a U.S. Senator from Missouri (1995–2001). He lost his bid for reelection in 2000 to Mel Carnahan, who died a few days before the election, making Ashcroft
the only Senator in U.S. history to lose to a dead person. He 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), has been a member of the Federalist Society, and is a professor at the Regent University School of Law, a conservative Christian institution affiliated with televangelist Pat Robertson.
His son, Jay Ashcroft, is also a politician, serving as Secretary of State of Missouri since January 2017.