Roger Arnebergh (August 17, 1909 – January 25, 2004) was an American attorney and elected official. He served as

Los Angeles City Attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the City of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor offenses only. The City Attorney is elected for four years, and the City Charter requires ...

from 1953 to 1973.

Biography

Early life

Roger Arneberg was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. He was the son of Targe Arnebergh and Amelia Graagaard, who were of Norwegian and Danish ancestry. Although he dropped out of high school at the age of fifteen, he received a law degree through extension learning.

Career

Arnebergh won the election for

in 1953 with support from Ray L. Chesebro, who was retiring. He would be re-elected five times with little opposition. Throughout his 20 years as city attorney, Arneburgh usually ran unopposed. Arnebergh led a department that increased from 76 to 185 lawyers during his tenure and was widely praised for his fair handling of disputes among city departments and his enforcement of misdemeanors. However, in 1973, Burt Pines and

Ira Reiner Ira Kenneth Reiner (born February 15, 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Los Angeles City Attorney from 1981 to 1984 and Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1984 to 1992. The McMartin preschool trial occurred dur ...

both ran for the office against Arneburgh. He was forced into a runoff against Pines, who won with 58%. After his loss, Arnebergh practiced law privately in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

. He was briefly in the limelight in 1991, as part of Citizens for Integrity and Viability in the City Charter, which supported former Police Chief

Daryl Gates Daryl Francis Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was an American police officer who served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only t ...

, and was against changes in the selection, removal and tenure of future police chiefs.

Death

Arnebergh died on January 25, 2004.

Personal life

Arnebergh married Emilie Katherine Rogers (1908–2009), on May 1, 1937. They had one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnebergh, Roger 1909 births 2004 deaths American people of Danish descent American people of Norwegian descent Los Angeles city attorneys Politicians from Greater Los Angeles Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century California politicians