# G. Aaron Youngquist *Minnesota Attorney General (appointed 1928); U.S. Department of Justice official (1929–1933)* Gustav Aaron Youngquist (4 November 1885 – 29 October 1959) was a lawyer and prosecutor who was born in Sweden and raised in the United States.[^2] He held the office of [[Minnesota Attorney General]] after an appointment in 1928. He then served in the United States Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General.[^2] The Minnesota Attorney General's office lists him among the state's former Attorneys General.[^1] As a federal official he oversaw the prosecution in which Al Capone was tried and sentenced for federal income tax evasion.[^2] His career ran from county prosecution in [[Minnesota]] to the state's chief legal office, and then to federal enforcement of national prohibition.[^2] The record assembled for this entry consists of the office's list of Attorneys General and one secondary biographical account. It does not include instruments, dockets or votes bearing on his conduct in either office.[^1][^2] ## Early life and education Youngquist's family brought him from the Gothenburg area of Sweden to the United States when he was a small child.[^2] He studied law at the St. Paul College of Law, the school later known as William Mitchell College of Law, and took his degree in 1909.[^2] ## Career After law school he formed a law partnership with [[Charles Loring (judge)]], who would go on to become Chief Justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]].[^2] He was Polk County [[county attorney]] from 1915 to 1918, and he afterward won election as Carver County's attorney.[^2] Albert F. Pratt's death left the office of Attorney General vacant. In February 1928 [[Theodore Christianson]], then [[governor]], named Youngquist to fill it.[^2][^1] [[Albert F. Pratt]] had held the office until his death.[^2] In 1929 the state [[Republican Party (United States)]] attempted to recruit him as its candidate for governor in the following year's election.[^2] At the urging of U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell, he took a Department of Justice post instead. In that post he was responsible for enforcing national prohibition under the [[Volstead Act]].[^2] His federal service lasted until 1933. During that time he appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in sixty to seventy cases and supervised the trial and sentencing of Al Capone.[^2] The biographical source credits him, as Assistant U.S. Attorney General, with the successful Capone tax-evasion prosecution. The record assembled here does not include the docket or judgment.[^2] Back in Minnesota he kept up an active law practice.[^2] He was also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court's advisory committee on the rules governing federal criminal procedure.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Gustav Aaron Youngquist, a former Minnesota Attorney General.[^1] He was appointed in February 1928.[^2] ### What - He was appointed Minnesota Attorney General to fill the vacancy left by Albert F. Pratt's death.[^2] ### When - He was appointed in February 1928. He entered Department of Justice service in 1929 and remained until 1933.[^2] ### Where - Minnesota: Polk County (county attorney, 1915–1918), Carver County (county attorney), and the state Attorney General's office.[^1][^2] - The U.S. Department of Justice (federal service).[^2] ### Why - The biographical source states that U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell persuaded him to take the federal post after the state Republican Party tried to draft him for governor. The record does not establish his reasons beyond that account.[^2] ### How - Governor Theodore Christianson appointed him to the state office.[^2] ### How many - He argued between sixty and seventy cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Attorney General's Office, *Attorney General History* (undated) — lists Youngquist among former Minnesota Attorneys General. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/AGHistory.asp [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *G. Aaron Youngquist* (revision 1378385727, retrieved 25 October 2026) — biographical account of his birth, education, county and state offices, Department of Justice service and the Capone prosecution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Aaron_Youngquist