Hardy Myers was born in the small town of Electric Mills, MS. His father, a lumberman, came with his family to Bend in 1943 to become manager of The Shevlin-Hixon Company, one of the two large mills that used to operate on the Deschutes River. Hardy attended the public schools of Bend and Prineville, the University of Mississippi, and the University Of Oregon School Of Law. In 1962, Hardy married Mary Ann Thalhofer of Prineville; they have three sons: Hardy III, Christopher and Jonathan. They have lived in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Portland since 1968.

After serving as a judicial law clerk for a United States District Judge, Hardy entered private law practice in Portland with a firm that, after two mergers, became Stoel Rives, Oregon's largest private law firm. He began his public career by being appointed chair of the Portland City Planning Commission, and was then elected to five terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. He was twice chosen Speaker of the House. The Oregonian's surveys of legislative observers twice rated him the most outstanding member of the Legislature, and the Willamette Week's surveys of legislative observers rated him during four terms as the most outstanding metro area State Representative.

After leaving the Legislature, Hardy held several other elected or appointed positions before being elected Attorney General. These included MSD (now Metro) Councilor; chair, Oregon Criminal Justice Council; member, State Sentencing Guidelines Board; chair, Metro Charter Committee; and chair, Task Force on Mass Transit.

Hardy was elected Attorney General of Oregon in 1996 and reelected in 2000. As Attorney General, Hardy has headed all the work of the Oregon Department of Justice and has made a special commitment to law enforcement and public safety, the support of crime victims, consumer protection, and keeping state government open and honest.