Lynch, Loretta Elizabeth, 1959–, U.S. lawyer and government official, b. Greensboro, N.C., grad. Harvard (A.B. 1981, J.D. 1984). She was a prosecutor in the office of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1990–99), U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1999–2001), and then a partner in a private law firm (2002–10). Again U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 2010, Lynch became (2015–17) U.S. attorney general, succeeding Eric Holder. She was the first African-American woman to serve in the office. She returned to private practice in 2019.
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