Eric Holder

Eric Himpton Holder Jr. is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd United States attorney general from 2009 to 2015. He was the first African American to hold this position. Holder was born on January 21, 1951, in New York City to a middle-class family of Barbadian origin. He completed his education at Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College, and Columbia Law School. Afterward, he worked for the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice for twelve years. Holder also served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and U.S. deputy attorney general. He gained recognition for prosecuting cases involving government corruption, including the conviction of congressman Dan Rostenkowski.