Eric Holder was born in New York City on June 20, 1961. He is the second African American to serve as Attorney General of the United States, and was President Obama's first choice to be his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense. Holder attended the University of Chicago on a scholarship from Henry Louis Gates Jr., who at that time was a professor at Harvard Law School
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After earning a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1983, he attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1987 with a law degree. Holder began his career as a civil rights lawyer focusing on voter registration and also worked for two years with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation while earning a master's degree in public policy from Harvard. In 1993, he joined the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton before being appointed by President Barack Obama at age 37 to be Deputy Attorney General of the United States.