Indian American Gurbir Grewal is the Director of the Division of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that role, he is charged with pursuing violations of law for the SEC, which regulates the nation’s financial markets.
Grewal became the nation’s first Sikh state attorney general when the New Jersey state Senate confirmed his appointment in January 2018.
He was appointed to the position by Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Grewal, who was the Bergen County prosecutor.
Grewal is also the second Indian American state attorney general, after Kamala Harris, now the vice president of the United States, who served as the Golden State’s attorney general from 2011 to 2016.
“I’m extremely humbled, and I’m looking forward to getting started,†Grewal was quoted as saying by northjersey.com. “My first order of business is to introduce myself and get up to speed.â€
Grewal was nominated as Bergen County prosecutor by Gov. Chris Christie in 2016. Before that, he worked as the chief of the Economic Crimes Unit at the US Attorney’s Office.
He also served as an Assistant US Attorney in both New York (2004-2007) and New Jersey (2010-2016).
Grewal was in Jersey City and grew up in Hudson and Bergen counties.
Grewal, a law graduate from the College of William & Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law, said he entered public service because he “wanted to give back to a country that has given us and other immigrant families like us so much.â€
RELATED:Â Indian American Gurbir Grewal nominated as attorney general of New Jersey (December 13, 2017)
Grewal was praised for the initiatives he has taken during his tenure as the Bergen County. Combating the opioid crisis in Bergen County and promoting better relations between police and the people were among his accomplishments.
A Glen Rock resident, Grewal has served as the president of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and a member of the New Jersey Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association.
RELATED: Indian American Gurbir Grewal appointed Bergen County prosecutor (January 5, 2016)
Gov. Murphy, while announcing the nomination, said he wanted an attorney general who could fight against the policies of the Trump administration.
Grewal, who is married and a father of three, comes from one of the fastest-growing segments of New Jersey’s population. The number of people of Indian descent in the state increased 73 percent during the 2000s. In Bergen, that number grew by 40 percent to 24,973 by 2010 or 2.8 percent of Bergen County’s overall population.
NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla honored at 2019 SALDEF gala (April 11, 2019)