biography
pronunciation:
[reenoh]
| sex:
| female
|
| lived:
| (1938– )
|
| biography:
| US attorney general (1993–2001), born in Miami, Florida, USA, the first woman to become US attorney general and the longest serving occupant of that cabinet post. She studied at Harvard Law School, and became the county prosecutor in Dade County, FL (1978–93). President Clinton named her attorney general in 1993 after two women who had been selected withdrew their candidacies. She handled the political fallout from the Waco, TX, episode in 1993 by taking responsibility for the failures of the siege against the Branch Davidian sect in which 14 persons were killed. She became one of the most respected members of the Clinton administration in its first term, known for launching innovative programmes designed to steer non-violent drug offenders away from jail and espousing the rights of criminal defendants. Her readiness to nominate special prosecutors to investigate the president drew fire from the White House, but her political position was unassailable. Republicans attacked her handling of the campaign fund-raising scandal linked to the 1996 election, and there were some calls for her to step down. The anti-trust suit against Microsoft, Inc (1998–9) was the most publicized policy action of her tenure. |
|
|
