Law / Politics
Frank J. Kelley
1924–2021 · lawyer, Michigan attorney general
Detroit-born lawyer nicknamed 'the Eternal General,' who served as Michigan's attorney general for 37 years (1961–1999) and pioneered state consumer protection.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Florida
aged 96- Birth name
- Frank Joseph Kelley
- Also known as
- The Eternal General
- Detroit years
- 1924–1950s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Frank Kelley was born in Detroit on the last day of 1924, the son of an Irish American Democratic activist whose admiration for Harry Truman steered his son toward public life. He grew up in the city and earned his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Detroit before moving north to practice law in Alpena. In 1961 Governor John Swainson appointed him attorney general at 36, the youngest in state history; voters then re-elected him nine times, and when he retired in 1999 at 74 he was also the oldest. Over 37 years he worked with five governors and set up one of the first consumer protection divisions in any attorney general's office in the country, and later environmental and civil rights units. He was elected president of the National Association of Attorneys General and was a leading force behind the 1998 tobacco master settlement. His successor, Jennifer Granholm, became Michigan's first woman attorney general. He died in 2021 at 96.
Highlights
- Michigan attorney general, 1961–1999, the longest continuous tenure in U.S. history
- Created one of the first state consumer protection divisions
- President of the National Association of Attorneys General
- Key figure in the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1940s–1951
University of Detroit Mercy
He earned his undergraduate and law degrees at what was then the University of Detroit.