Talis James Colberg (born August 25, 1958)[1] was appointed by Governor Sarah Palin as the seventeenth attorney general of Alaska on December 13, 2006. Colberg resigned in February 2009 over controversy over the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal.[2]
Colberg received his high school diploma from Palmer High School in 1976. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Oriental History. In 1983, Colberg received his J.D. degree from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was a classmate of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He was admitted to the Alaska Bar in 1984. He finished his Ph.D. in Northern Political History & Culture at the University of Alaska Northern Studies program in 2008. [3]
Before his appointment, Talis Colberg worked from 1984 to 1985 as an associate attorney in the law firm Kopperud and Hefferan in Wasilla, Alaska. From 1985 to 1992, he served as staff counsel to The Travelers Insurance Companies. Until his appointment as Attorney General for the State of Alaska, he was in sole practice from 1992 and was also an Adjunct History Instructor at Matanuska-Susitna College, teaching Eastern and Western Civilization.
Colberg graduated from Palmer High School in 1976, after which he attended Pacific Lutheran University (B.A. 1979) and Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D. 1983). He has completed his Ph.D. at University of Alaska. His dissertation title is "M.D. Snodgrass: The Founder of the Alaska State Fair".
In addition to his legal practice and teaching responsibilities, Colberg was active in the community. He was elected to two three-year terms on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly. From 1992 until his appointment, he was a member of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce. From 1998 to 2001 Colberg served as a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Valleys State Park Citizen Advisory Board. From 1995 to 2001 he served as a Director of the Board as well as Secretary and President for the Alaska State Fair, Inc. From 2002 through 2006, Colberg served on the Board of Directors for the Alaska Humanities Forum and was elected Chairman of that Board from 2004 to 2005. He is also a Past President of the Palmer Rotary Club, where he has been a member since 1992.
As Alaska’s Attorney General, Colberg was a member of the Governor’s cabinet and headed up the 500 professionals that work for the Department of Law. The Attorney General serves as the legal advisor for the governor and other state officers, prosecutes all violations of state criminal law, represents the state in all civil lawsuits and administrative proceedings to which the state is a party, enforces the consumer protection and unfair trade practices laws, and protects rate payers in proceedings before the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA), the state agency that regulates utilities.
In 2009 Colberg was elected the Mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Burough, and he currently holds this post. [4]
Colberg has been married for twenty-seven years. He and his wife have two daughters. Talis is married to Krystyna, and his daughters are Domonique Woodham and Eva Colberg (15)