Michael Anthony Cox (born December 30, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who served as Michigan's 52nd Attorney General from 2003 to 2011. He was the first Republican to hold that office since Frank Millard in 1955. Cox took office in 2003 and won re-election in 2006. Jennifer Granholm, who went on to become the Governor of Michigan, preceded him in office. Cox lost the Republican gubernatorial primary election August 3, 2010, coming in third behind Rick Snyder and Pete Hoekstra. Early life and education Born in Detroit, Cox graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School in 1980. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1980 to 1983. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1986 and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989. Career He worked for the Oakland County Prosecutors' office from 1989 to 1990, then the Wayne County office from 1990 to 2002, before being elected Attorney General. Cox successfully ran for re-election in 2006, after receiving the Republican party nomination at the August Michigan Republican Party Convention. Cox left office in 2010 due to term limit requirements ironically pushed for by predecessor Republicans when a Democrat was in office. In 2011 he joined the prominent Detroit law firm, Dykema Gosset. Cox recently left Dykema Gosset to start The Mike Cox Law Firm. Attorney General of Michigan As attorney general, Cox took a prominent role in taking on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). Cox has opposed BCBSM supported bills and challenged BCBSM in court for the alleged transfer of nonprofit funds to purchase a for-profit company. In 2003, Cox created a cold case unit to investigate and prosecute cold cases. Cox's team has had notable convictions including Coral Watts, Gary Leiterman, John Rodney McRae, two brothers who killed two Oakland County hunters, two people who killed Christopher Brown, six people who murdered Janet Chandler in 1979, and most recently, Timothy Dawson who was convicted of killing his wife. Internet Predator Unit After Cox became Attorney General in 2003, he restructured the Child and Public Protection Unit to focus on aggressively protecting children from adults who would attempt to prey on young children over the internet. Cox's unit would identify those adults who would interact with children inappropriately and arrested more than 250 adults having one of the most successful units in the nation. In 2006,