Jason S. Miyares served as the 48th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2022 to 2026, becoming the first Latino-American elected to statewide office in Virginia. As the Commonwealth’s chief legal officer, he led the Office of the Attorney General and represented the interests of more than eight million Virginians.
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, and raised in Virginia Beach, Miyares is the son of a Cuban mother who fled communist Cuba, arriving penniless and homeless in the United States in search of freedom and opportunity before eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. He earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from James Madison University and a Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary School of Law.
Miyares began his legal career working as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Virginia Beach. In 2015, Miyares was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. During his tenure in the General Assembly, he served on the Courts of Justice, Appropriations, and Transportation Committees and built a reputation for his work on criminal law, constitutional issues, and government accountability.
In 2021, Virginians elected Miyares as Attorney General. He led the Office of the Attorney General through major legal actions involving corporate misconduct, multistate consumer protection, and constitutional litigation, while continuing to represent the Commonwealth in state and federal courts. He also refocused and expanded the Office’s work on behalf of survivors and victims of crime, increasing both services and funding to support those most in need.
During his tenure, Virginia recorded a 30% reduction in murders and a double-digit decline in overall violent crime, coinciding with the launch of Ceasefire Virginia, a focused public-safety strategy that brought together state and federal law enforcement to target repeat violent offenders and direct resources into the communities most affected by crime. Miyares also made confronting the opioid and fentanyl crisis a central priority, securing more than $1.2 billion in opioid settlements for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. Miyares spearheaded Virginia’s One Pill Can Kill initiative to combat fentanyl trafficking and educate the public, helping drive a 46.7% reduction in fatal fentanyl overdoses statewide—the top in the nation. He also established the Elder Abuse Investigation Center for Central Virginia to improve coordination among law enforcement and prosecutors in protecting vulnerable seniors.
Throughout his time in office, Miyares emphasized that the Attorney General’s duty is to apply the law as written, not as preferred, often describing his philosophy as “calling balls and strikes.” He argued that public trust in government is dependent on fair, consistent, and impartial enforcement of the law, regardless of political pressure.
Miyares is a proud husband and father of three, and a passionate defender of the American Miracle, grounded in a belief that the rule of law is the foundation of both liberty and democratic governance, committed to protecting it for future generations.
