Eric Holder

Eric Holder

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, in office since 2009. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, is the first African American to hold the position of U.S. Attorney General.

Holder previously served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and a United States Attorney. In that office he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (Democrat, Illinois) for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal. Later, he was Deputy Attorney General of the United States and worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He was senior legal advisor to Senator Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee.