The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney General has been elected. As of January 2021, there have been 43 attorneys general in Missouri. Eric S. Schmitt was appointed to become the 43rd Attorney General in January 2019 filling the mid-term vacancy created by Josh Hawley's election to the United States Senate. Following Schmitt's 2022 election to Missouri's other United States Senate seat, his successor as attorney general will be appointed by Governor Mike Parson.