Chris Koster

Before that, Koster was elected three times as prosecuting attorney of Cass County, Missouri, and served four years as state senator from Missouri's 31st Senatorial district.

He represented Missouri's 31st Senatorial District, which consists of Cass, Johnson, Bates and Vernon counties.

During his time in the Missouri Senate, Koster played key roles in the debates over stem cell research, tort reform, and the elimination of Medicaid fraud.

Christopher Andrew Koster (born August 31, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st Attorney General of Missouri from 2009 to 2017.

Koster earned a liberal arts bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1987 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Law in 1991.

From 1991 to 1993, Koster served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Missouri Attorney General.

From 1993 to 1994, he practiced law with the firm of Blackwell Sanders in Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1994, Koster was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Cass County, Missouri, as a Republican and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002 by wide margins.

Koster supervised the Missouri investigation and prosecution of serial killer John Edward Robinson.

On June 4, 2000, Koster led a group of law enforcement officers in the discovery of the remains of three female victims of Robinson's, each stored in 55-gallon drums inside a Raymore, Missouri storage facility.

In conjunction with prosecutors in Kansas, John Robinson was convicted of the murders of eight women in two states, although more victims are believed to have been killed by Robinson.

Robinson lured his victims over the internet, and has been called the internet's first serial killer.

Koster also earned a master's degree in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002.

Koster was elected to the Missouri Senate in 2004 as a Republican.

In 2006, he carried legislation in the Senate that overhauled Missouri's eminent domain laws.

On August 1, 2007, Koster made Missouri political history when he announced that he was leaving the Missouri Republican Party to join the Democratic party.

Citing his frustration with the Republican Party's increasing intolerance on issues like stem cell research, workers' rights, cultural inclusion, and the non-partisan court plan, Koster said that the Missouri Republican Party had become too beholden to the extreme right-wing of the party.

He said, "Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct."

Before his change of parties, Koster was chairman of the Republican Caucus, the majority party's fourth-ranking position in the Missouri State Senate.

While in the Senate, he served on the following Senate committees:

In 2008, Koster defeated State Representative Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris in the Democratic primary for the nomination for Missouri Attorney General.

Despite joining the Missouri Democratic party only a year earlier, and primary rivals calling him an opportunist for switching parties, Koster received several Democratic-leaning endorsements from law enforcement, labor unions, Democratic interest groups and elected officials.

Koster won the nomination despite accusations from Donnelly and Harris that his campaign violated state law in raising money from multiple committees.

During the campaign, Koster's ex-wife Rebecca Bowman Nassikas donated $200,000 to Missourians for Honest Leadership, a political committee, which paid $187,500 to purchase air time and produce television ads in an effort to oppose Koster's candidacy for Missouri Attorney General.

He went on to defeat Republican state senator Mike Gibbons in the general election, 52.83% to 47.17%.

He was sworn in as attorney general on January 12, 2009, succeeding Jay Nixon.

In 2011, Koster filed an amicus brief opposing the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act under the Commerce Clause.

He filed a second amicus brief suggesting that the individual mandate could be upheld under Congress' ability to lay and collect taxes, which is how the Supreme Court ruled on the matter in 2012.

In 2012, Koster's staff moved to the Broadway Building in Jefferson City.

After this move, a request was made for "repairs, replacements and improvements" on two floors.

However, Koster's office was in the Supreme Court Building.

Funding for the $3.2 million request came from money recovered from consumer fraud cases.

Also in 2012, a report by state auditor Tom Schweich criticized Koster for his practice of awarding contingency fee contracts to law firms that had donated to his campaign.

Koster is an advocate of the death penalty.

In July 2013, there were 21 inmates on death row in Missouri whose executions he was pressing the Supreme Court of Missouri to set a date for before the drugs used for lethal injections expired.

After the 21 inmates filed suit against the Missouri Department of Corrections over the use of the drug propofol for lethal injections, concerning cruel and unusual punishment, the state Supreme Court temporarily halted the further use of the death penalty until the case was decided.

Missouri law allows for the use of lethal gas where lethal injection is not available.

In 2016, Koster was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Missouri and was defeated by Republican nominee Eric Greitens in the general election.

After completing his terms as attorney general, Koster joined Centene Corporation, where he currently serves as Executive Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel.

Koster was born in St. Louis, Missouri.