George Christian Jepsen
December 17, 1989, ''The New York Times'' (born November 23, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 24th

attorney general of Connecticut The Connecticut attorney general is the state attorney general of Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the ...

from 2011 to 2019. Jepsen was a

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

's 27th Senate district, representing Stamford and part of Darien, and served in the Connecticut Senate from 1991 to 2003. During his time in the Senate, he served as Senate Majority Leader from 1997 to 2003. Prior to that, he served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

from 1987 to 1991, representing part of Stamford in Connecticut's 148th House district. After leaving the State Senate, he became Chairman of the Connecticut State Democratic Party from 2003 to 2005.

Early life and education

Jepsen was born in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

. A

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, he earned his J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

with honors and also earned a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government. To help pay for his education, he worked as a teaching fellow in constitutional law for former

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

prosecutor

Archibald Cox Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American legal scholar who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During ...

Career

Following graduation, Jepsen worked as staff counsel for Carpenters Local Union 210 for Western Connecticut. For nearly ten years, Jepsen negotiated contracts for wages and benefits, represented injured workers, ensured job safety, and advocated for different bidding practices. In private practice, Jepsen worked at some of Connecticut's top law firms. His legal experience included work with the

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's Estate (law), estate during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to ...

, representing small business in contract negotiations, government compliance, and real estate transactions. He also defended individuals in the criminal courts and served as counsel to clients in the civil courts. Jepsen successfully worked on complex legal issues as part of a successful appellate team in a number of cases before the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

Connecticut General Assembly (1987–2003)

Jepsen served 16 years in the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...

, first as State Representative from the 148th House District, and then as a State Senator from Connecticut's 27th Senate District, the last six as Majority Leader. As a legislator, Jepsen worked in a variety of areas including

clean energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and s ...

gun safety Gun safety is the study and practice of managing risk when using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms, airguns and ammunition in order to avoid injury, illness or death. Gun safety includes the training of users, the design of fi ...

, and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. Jepsen assisted in the development of laws that reformed

HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

and insurance practices. As Senate Majority Leader, Jepsen worked to develop bills that protect Connecticut's natural assets. Jepsen co-authored the Open Space Trust Fund, an initiative that sets aside $10 million in funding for the purchase of open space. Jepsen worked to pass legislation to revitalize blighted areas in

brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

s, including efforts to expand state financial assistance to re-developers. This was incentivized by tax credits to businesses that invested in redevelopment of contaminated properties in the state. Jepsen helped the passage of legislation to replace Connecticut's "Sooty Six" power plants with cleaner plants that have lower emissions. These six old coal-burning plants were contributing to Connecticut's unique air pollution problem and rise in

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

rates. This initiative also involved new funding to upgrade sewage treatment plants for cleaner rivers. As Senate Majority Leader, Jepsen became a national leader against the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. He helped pass landmark legislation prohibiting the sale or possession of assault weapons, mandating trigger locks, and necessitating tougher background checks. This work was nationally recognized by the

Brady Campaign Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

and the

Million Mom March The Million Mom March was a rally held on Mother's Day, May 14, 2000 in the Washington, D.C. National Mall by the Million Mom March organization to call for stricter gun control. The march reportedly drew an estimated attendance of 500,000 to 75 ...

. As Senate Majority Leader, Jepsen worked to ban sexual orientation discrimination, to strengthen

hate crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

laws, and to expand Connecticut's living will laws. Jepsen supported health insurance reform to improve covered services for

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and emergency room conditions. He helped mandate that health insurers cover the costs of

mammograms Mammography (also called mastography; DICOM modality: MG) is the process of using low-energy X-rays (usually around 30 Peak kilovoltage, kVp) to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection ...

and

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

and helped pass legislation to outlaw “drive-through” mastectomies and childbirth deliveries, so insurers cover at least a 48-hour hospital stay.

2010 Connecticut Attorney General election

Jepsen announced on January 6, 2010, that he would form an exploratory committee for Attorney General, receiving the Democratic Party's endorsement on May 22. On July 12 Jepsen announced he had qualified for public financing in the Citizens Election Program. On November 2, 2010, he was elected as

2014 Connecticut Attorney General election, 2014

Jepsen was reelected in 2014, defeating Republican opponent Kie Westby.

Electoral history

*Jepsen was also listed on the A Connecticut Party line. *Jepsen was also listed on the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

line; Fournier was also listed on the Independent Party line. *Jepsen was also listed on the Working Families Party line; Westby was also listed on the Independent Party line.

References

External links

Official website of Attorney General George Jepsen
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jepsen, George 1954 births 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut attorneys general Democratic Party Connecticut state senators Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut Harvard Kennedy School alumni State political party chairs of Connecticut