Janet Reno, first female US attorney general.
Story coming out of AP and CNN — on the eve of another historic “first female” moment in US history, Janet Reno has died at age 78 from complications from Parkinson's.
Huffington Post hits the controversies first from her time as (our nation’s first female) US attorney general, but also highlights her work on women’s rights and the convictions of some of our nation’s most notorious terrorists/criminals (McVeigh, etc.).
Early background from a biography from the Women's International Center:
The early life and career of Janet Reno helps us understand the reasons why Janet Reno is the remarkable person she is. Born on July 21, 1938 in Miami, Florida. Her father, Henry Reno, came to the United States from Denmark and for forty-three years was a police reporter for the Miami Herald. Jane Wood, Reno's mother, raised her children and then became an investigative reporter for the Miami News. Janet Reno has three younger siblings. Strong roots for a strong woman
Janet Reno attended public school in Dade County, Florida, where she was a debating champion at Coral Gables High School. In 1956 Janet Reno enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she majored in chemistry, became president of the Women's Self Government Association, and earned her room and board.
In 1960 Janet Reno enrolled at Harvard Law School, one of only sixteen women in a class of more than 500 students. She received her LL.B. from Harvard three years later. Despite her Harvard degree, she had difficulty obtaining work as a lawyer because she was a woman.
In 1971 Janet Reno was named staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. She helped revise the Florida court system. In 1973 she accepted a position with the Dade County State's Attorney's Office. She left the state's attorney's office in 1976 to become a partner in a private law firm.
She was appointed State Attorney for Dade County (Florida) in 1978, and served several terms. In 1993, she was nominated and appointed by Bill Clinton as the US Attorney General, remaining in that position for the rest of Clinton’s presidency.
