Two weeks prior to graduation, he was accepted to Yale University and granted a scholarship. He was recognized as valedictorian, class of 1949. At Oakland High School, Meese was involved in the Junior State of America and led his high school debate team to statewide championships. The young Meese also rode a bicycle on a paper route and worked in a drugstore. His father was an Oakland city government official, president of the Zion Lutheran Church, and served 24 years in the non-partisan office of Treasurer of Alameda County.Īt age 10, Meese published along with his brothers a mimeographed neighborhood newspaper, the Weekly Herald, and used the proceeds to buy a war bond. He was raised in a practicing Lutheran family, of German descent.

Meese was born in Oakland, California, the eldest of four sons born to Leone (née Feldman) and Edwin Meese, Jr. He has served on the board of Cornerstone closed end funds. He is on the board of directors of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He currently sits on the National Advisory Board of Center for Urban Renewal and Education. He was also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He currently holds fellowships and chairmanships with several public policy councils and think-tanks, including the Constitution Project and the Heritage Foundation. Meese eventually rose to hold the position of the 75th United States Attorney General (1985–1988), a position from which he resigned following the Wedtech scandal. Following the 1984 election, he was considered for the position of White House Chief of Staff by President Reagan, but James Baker was chosen instead. Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan presidential transition team (1980–81) and the Reagan administration (1981–1985).

Edwin meese us attorneys general