Anthony Brown took office Tuesday as the first African-American attorney general in Maryland history. It’s the second time in his long political career that he’s held a statewide office in Maryland.

The Democrat took the oath of office in the House of Delegates chamber in the Annapolis statehouse where his political career started. In 1998, Brown was elected a delegate representing District 25 in Prince George’s County, ultimately serving two terms. Eight years later, Martin O’Malley selected him as his running mate for his successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Brown served two terms as Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor.

During Brown’s inaugural speech in the House chamber, he wasted zero time in pitching the very lawmakers who will decide one his first priorities — increasing the Maryland Attorney General office’s budget for employees.

“It’s imperative that the office continue attracting the best and the brightest,” Brown said to applause. “It’s not enough to just commend them for their work - and we should - we need to offer them competitive salaries and provide them with superior resources to do their jobs.”

Brown also called for more prosecutors to tackle organized crime and to fight for civil rights. His predecessor, retiring Attorney General Brian Frosh, made similar pushes during his tenure in office. But Brown may be sailing smoother seas towards those goals since he’ll have a fellow Democrat with Gov.-elect Wes Moore instead of outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, in office.

Moore is slated to become the first Black Governor in Maryland’s history when he’s sworn in on Jan. 18.

Brown’s inauguration as attorney general continued his political rise after a stunning gubernatorial election defeat eight years ago to the man who swore him in Tuesday — Gov. Larry Hogan. The Republican recounted his experience with Brown in Annapolis in 2015 when he arrived to take office.

“We walked in through the back door together to greet the members of the General Assembly,” said Hogan before swearing Brown in on Tuesday. “And it was an incredibly gracious thing for you to do. I think it speaks to the high character and commitment to service that has defined your career.”

For his part, Brown said he joked with Hogan before Tuesday’s ceremony that without him “he wouldn’t have been there today.”

Brown didn’t sit on the sidelines long after his 2014 defeat to Hogan. In 2016, he won the District 4 congressional seat representing Prince George’s County. In that role, he served three terms, the final of which ended the same day he was inaugurated as attorney general.

In November 2021, Brown handily defeated Republican challenger Michael Peroutka with nearly 65% of the vote.