Loretta Lynch sworn in as first black female Attorney General of United States

Loretta Lynch on 27 April 2015 was sworn-in as the United States' 83rd Attorney General, the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official.

She succeeded former attorney general Eric Holder, who left the position on 24 April 2015 after serving as Attorney General for six years. Her name was confirmed five months after President Obama nominated her to succeed Eric Holder.

55-year-old, Lynch appointment as the Attorney General was confirmed by the Senate on 23 April 2015. Earlier, she served as the US Attorney for the eastern district of New York, which encompasses much of New York City.

Lynch is also the second female after Janet Wood Reno to serve as Attorney General of the US.

She is known for her work on high-profile anti-terror cases and has a history of successfully prosecuting terrorists who plotted to bomb the New York subway and the Federal Reserve Bank.

A Harvard graduate, Lynch is a daughter of a librarian mother and her father is a Baptist minister in North Carolina.