Private practice lawyer, Eric Holder, is set to become the first African-American to head the US Justice Department, after President-elect Barack Obama nominated him the US Attorney General. Holder previously made history in 1997, as the highest ranking African-American law enforcement official in the country on being appointed the deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton.

Holder, 57, has a heavyweight résumé bursting with legal and law enforcement credentials, having spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor. He has been United States attorney for the District of Columbia; a federal judge on the superior court bench in Washington; and a prosecutor in the Justice Department’s public integrity section, which investigates political corruption.

In recent years, the former prosecutor and judge has worked as a partner at Covington & Burling, representing big-name clients like the National Football League, Chiquita Brands International and Merck.

An early supporter of Obama’s campaign, Holder was part of a vice-presidential advisory team that helped pick Senator Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate. His friends say that his views on the law and the role of government align closely with those of Obama. Democratic Party officials say one of Holder’s top priorities will be to reform the reputation of the Justice Department, after controversies surrounding its hiring practices and anti-terror regulations.

Though some lawmakers have criticized Holder’s selection - because of his involvement in the controversial 2001 pardon of a fugitive financier, Marc Rich, by the Clinton presidency - Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the head of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, has said Holder would make an outstanding nominee and should have bipartisan support.