Eric Holder

White House Profile

Eric Holder

Attorney General of the United States

Eric H. Holder, Jr. was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States on February 3, 2009 by Vice President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Mr. Holder on December 1, 2008.

In 1997, Mr. Holder was named by President Clinton to be the Deputy Attorney General, the first African-American named to that post. Prior to that he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1988, Mr. Holder was nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Holder, a native of New York City, attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School where he earned a Regents Scholarship. He attended Columbia College, majored in American History, and graduated in 1973. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1976.

While in law school, he clerked at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. Upon graduating, he moved to Washington and joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section in 1976 and was tasked to investigate and prosecute official corruption on the local, state and federal levels.

Prior to becoming Attorney General, Mr. Holder was a litigation partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington.

Eric Holder's Posts

Civil Rights

50 Years Later, Our March Goes On

August 24, 2013 at 12:14 PM EDT

Eric Holder commemorates the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington

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Tenth Anniversary of Sept 11

Attorney General Eric Holder: Remembering 9-11

September 9, 2011 at 6:44 PM EDT

This anniversary is a time to renew our commitment to upholding the uniquely American values that have always defined and continue to strengthen this great nation

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Economy

Attorney General Eric Holder on the American Jobs Act

September 9, 2011 at 2:21 PM EDT

The Attorney General applauds the President’s plan to preserve – and to create – critical jobs for members of the first responder community

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