The Attorney General of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies in legal matters, supplying other state officials and prosecutors with legal advice, and leading the North Carolina Department of Justice. The incumbent attorney general, Josh Stein, assumed office on January 1, 2017. The position of attorney general dates back to North Carolina's colonial history. The office was established in North Carolina's 1776 constitution as an official to be appointed by the North Carolina General Assembly. The state's 1868 constitution made the attorney general an elected executive official with their duties prescribed by law. Since 1971, the officer has sat on the Nor