With a 75-21 vote in favor of the former US prosecutor and federal judge Eric Holder on Monday, the Senate confirmed his appointment as the country first black Attorney General.

A deputy attorney general under former President Bill Clinton, Holder will administer the plans of President Barack Obama about revamping US legal policy in the war on terrorism - particularly the closing of the Guantanamo prison for terrorism suspects, and developing new policies for detention and interrogation of such suspects.

Holder's "ideal" résumé, fetching approval from both parties, easily trounced a few Republican objections about his supposedly deficient commitment for fighting terror and his support for gun control. The 58-year-old professional attorney is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.

Democrats consider Holder's confirmation an opportunity for restore the reputation and morale of Justice Department after charges of it being politicized under Bush.

In fact, the confirmation also makes Holder the only black in Obama's Cabinet. In the opinion of Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy, Holder's main backer, the event marks the realization of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream that individuals ought to be judged by the "content of their character" rather than the "color of their skin."

Leahy said that even though the confirmation process for attorneys general is generally considered political combat zone, the vote for Holder was, by far, the largest of the previous four considered by the Senate.