Steve Marshall, who was born in Atmore in 1964, was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley as the state’s new attorney general on Friday.

Marshall replaces former Attorney General Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Jeff Session’s seat on the U.S. Senate. Sessions was confirmed as 84th attorney general of the United States on Wednesday.

“It is a great honor to be named Attorney General and I am thankful to Gov. Bentley for the opportunity to serve the people of Alabama,” Marshall said in a released statement. “The time spent working alongside law enforcement for the last 20 years has been a remarkable privilege. As attorney general, I will continue to support their efforts to keep Alabamians safe and free from violent crime.”

Marshall, 52, has been the Marshall County District Attorney since 2001.

In August 2001, Steve was appointed to serve the remainder of the retiring Ronald Thompson’s term as District Attorney of Marshall County (27th Judicial District). When he was sworn in at age 36, Marshall became the second youngest district attorney in Alabama. He has since been re-elected unopposed in 2004, 2010 and 2016.

Marshall was instrumental in legislation that required a driver’s license for Alabama residents to purchase ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products, the main ingredient for making crystal meth.  The legislation also created a database for such purchases, put the products “behind the counter,” and led to a 90-percent reduction in the number of crystal meth labs in the state over the past 5 years.

Marshall is married to the former Bridgette Gentry. They have one daughter, Faith Marshall, 20, who is a student at Snead State Community College and plans to attend Jacksonville State University.