Derek Schmidt was elected the 44th attorney general of Kansas in 2010 and was reelected to a second term in 2014.
Under Schmidt’s leadership, the Attorney General’s Office has focused on prosecuting crimes against children, protecting senior citizens from scams and rip-offs, recovering record-setting amounts of money for Kansas consumers and taxpayers, providing quality legal services for the State of Kansas, and standing up against overreach by the federal government.
Before being elected attorney general, Schmidt served as a Kansas State Senator representing part of Southeast Kansas and as the State Senate Majority Leader. He previously served as counsel to Kansas Governor Bill Graves and as an assistant attorney general for consumer protection.
In 2013, Attorney General Schmidt personally and successfully defended a Kansas murder conviction on appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has led the successful efforts to strengthen Kansas law against human trafficking, to repair the state’s “Hard 50” sentencing law, to toughen penalties for defrauding senior citizens and for stealing from the Kansas Medicaid program, to extend the Do-Not-Call law to cover consumer cellphones, and to enact the Kansas RICO law to combat drug-and-gang violence.
Schmidt has been honored with the Friend of Law Enforcement Award from the Kansas Sheriffs Association, the Policy Maker of the Year Award from the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association, and the Guardian of Small Business Award from the Kansas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. He serves as Midwestern Region Vice Chair for the National Association of Attorneys General and as Vice Chair of the organization’s Human Trafficking Committee.
Attorney General Schmidt is a graduate of Independence High School and studied at Independence Community College. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, his master’s degree in international politics from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Schmidt and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of two young daughters.