Edwin Meese III served as U.S. attorney general from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. Meese, who worked for Reagan when he was the governor of California, was his personal lawyer in the White House before becoming attorney general. Political controversy and scandal finally led him to resign the office.

Meese was born on December 2, 1931 in Oakland, California. After graduating from Yale University in 1953, he attended the University of California Law School. After graduating and passing the California bar exam, Meese went to work in the From 1958 to 1967, Meese worked in the Alameda County, California district attorneys office. In this position Meese honed his prosecutorial and administrative skills. He campaigned for Ronald Reagan in the 1966 gubernatorial race and went to work on Reagan's core administrative team the following year. As secretary of legal affairs he served as a legal counselor to Reagan, offering advice on how the governor...