Idaho Attorney General Wasden honored as ‘Statesman of the Year’

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden was honored as Idaho Statesman of the Year by the Idaho State University champter of Pi Sigma Alpha national political honor society at a banquet at ISU in April.

The award is given annually to an Idahoan who has made significant contributions to the welfare of the state. Student members of Pi Sigma Alpha selected Wasden because of his outstanding public service to the state.

“This award is highly deserved,” said Rawley Maag, secretary for the ISU Pi Sigma Alpha. “Lawrence Walden has been an exemplary public servant in his current role as attorney general and in the previous positions he has held.”

Wasden is an 18-year veteran of the Office of the Attorney General. He previously served as chief of staff to the attorney general, deputy chief of staff and as a deputy attorney general representing the Idaho State Tax Commission. He has also served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Canyon County and as prosecuting attorney for Owyhee County.

He is the president of the National Association of Attorneys General and the Immediate Past Chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. In November 2007, he was selected by the Aspen Institute for a two-year fellowship program honoring public leaders as “the true rising stars” of American politics.

He served as co-chair of the NAAG Tobacco Committee from July 2004 through June of 2006 and is one of two state attorneys general serving on The American Legacy Foundation’s board of directors.

Wasden is a founding member, and past chairman, of the Government and Public Lawyers Section of the Idaho State Bar. He serves on the Boise State University Department of Criminal Justice Advisory Council and on the board of directors for the Treasure Valley Reading Foundation. In 2007, he received a “The People First!” award from the Idaho Newspaper Foundation for his work with Idahoans for Openness in Government to educate local government officials, the media and the public regarding Idaho’s Open Meeting Law and Public Records Law.

Wasden obtained his J.D. degree from the University of Idaho and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1985. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Brigham Young University in 1982.

Lawrence and Tracey Wasden have been married for 27 years. They live in Nampa and are parents of four children:

Previous Statesmen of the Year winners include Sixth District Judge Randy Smith of Pocatello; state Sen. Bert Marley; Rep. Michael K. Simpson; former state legislator and ISU benefactor Beverly Bistline; U.S. Sen. Larry Craig; former Govs. Cecil Andrus, John Evans and Robert Smylie; former Sens. James McClure and Steve Symms; former Reps. Richard Stallings and Ralph Harding; U.S. District Judge Lynn B. Winmill; and former Bannock County Commissioner Tom Katsilometes.