Eric Holder was born to parents who originated from two different places. Still they shared a connection. His father was born in St. Joseph, Barbados and came to the U.S. at the age of eleven. His mother was born in New Jersey but her parents were also from the same city St. Joseph, Barbados. They raised their son, Eric, in Queens, New York where he attended the public school until he was ten years old and was decidedly appointed to participate in a new program for ''gifted'' students.
Holder was a young teenager like many other boys and he played basketball at his high school in Manhattan. When Eric Holder went to Columbia University he also played basketball in his freshman year and was co-captain of the team. It was from Columbia where he received a degree in American history and graduated in 1973. He then continued with his law degree at Columbia Law School and graduated in 1976.
During Eric Holder’s first summer in law school he worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Then, in his second summer he gained experience in the department of the United States Attorney. Upon graduation from law school his time spent clerking for the U.S. government benefited as he went to work for the U.S. Justice Department until 1988.
Attorney Holder has been privileged to work in the league of many presidents in his career.
- In 1988 Attorney Eric Holder was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
- In 1997 President Clinton nominated Attorney Holder the next Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. to work under Janet Reno. Holder’s appointment was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate.
- Attorney Eric Holder was appointed as Acting Attorney General of the U.S. by President George W. Bush. The temporary position was later filled by John Ashcroft.
Attorney Eric Holder has also been part of many historic cases on Capital Hill.
- In 2004 Attorney Eric Holder assisted with an understanding between the Justice Department and Chiquita Brands International. The case involved "protection money" to a Columbia consortium that is on the U.S. top ten lists of terrorist organizations. Chiquita's officials offered a guilty plea and paid a $25 million fine.
- Attorney Holder was also involved in Clinton’s decision to grant clemency to arrested members in the Boricua Popular Army (again, another terrorist organization on the FBI list.)
- Eric Holder, Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. at the time, made advisement to Janet Reno regarding the Justice’s Department’s Independent Counsel Statue. With this advice, Reno gave permission to investigate the Leweinsky affair which led to the beginning of Clinton’s impeachment.
In December of 2008 Obama revealed Attorney Eric Holder as his nomination for Attorney General. He became the first African-American Attorney General of the U.S. on February 2, 2009 and the installation ceremony commenced March 27, 2009 at George Washington University.
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