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Eric Holder
American lawyer and official
Also known as: Eric Himpton Holder, Jr.
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Eric Holder (born January 21, 1951, New York, New York, U.S.) is an American lawyer who was the first African American to serve as U.S. attorney general (2009–15). Holder grew up in Queens, New York, and attended the prestigious Stuyvesant High School before enrolling at Columbia University. After graduating with a degree in American history (1973), he remained at Columbia to complete a law degree (1976). In 1976 Holder joined the U.S. Justice Department’s public integrity office, where he prosecuted cases involving government corruption. U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan nominated him to be a superior court judge for the District of ...(100 of 527 words)