Drew Wrigley is a fourth generation North Dakotan with family roots in Walsh County and Burke County, where the Wrigley Brothers Farm still thrives. Wrigley was born in Bismarck and grew-up in Fargo. He attended Fargo South High School, graduated from the University of North Dakota with honors in Economics and Philosophy, and received his law degree from the American University, Washington College of Law.
Wrigley spent five years as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia before he and his wife, Kathleen, returned home to North Dakota. In 2001, Wrigley was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as North Dakota’s 17th United States Attorney. From 2004 to 2009, Wrigley served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a select group of United States Attorneys tasked with advising the Attorney General of the United States and other Department of Justice leaders.
After stepping down as United States Attorney in 2009, Wrigley served as vice-president of a national Medicare and Medicaid contractor based in Fargo. He subsequently served as North Dakota’s 37th Lieutenant Governor, from December 2010 through December 2016. In 2017, Wrigley once again returned to the private sector, serving in a senior advisory role for a regional healthcare, insurance, research and philanthropic enterprise.
In 2019, Wrigley was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate as North Dakota’s 19th United States Attorney, becoming the first North Dakotan to hold that office twice. He served as the US Attorney until stepping down and returning to the private sector in 2021, working as general counsel for his family’s industrial/mechanical/commercial contacting companies.
In February 2022, Wrigley was appointed as the state’s 30th Attorney General by Governor Doug Burgum, to serve the remainder of the term of office after the unexpected death of Wayne Stenehjem.
Drew and Kathleen live in Bismarck. They have three children, Quinn, Patrick, and Harper.