COUNTRY OF BIRTH

United States

INDUSTRY

Law & Politics

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

In 2016, Kamala Harris became the second African-American woman and the first South Asian American to be elected to the United States Senate. She has served as junior United States senator in California since 2017, and in 2020, she was chosen as the vice presidential running mate of Joe Biden.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California in 1964 to a mother who was a biologist and a father who was a professor emeritus of economics. Her mother came to America from India and her father came from Jamaica. Her parents divorced when she was seven and later on, she and her sister moved with her mother to Montreal, Canada. Kamala returned to the U.S. and earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University, and later a law degree from the University of California, Hastings.

EARLY CAREER

Harris started her career working in the District Attorney’s Office in Alameda County. After, she moved on to the DA’s Office in the San Francisco District and then worked in the office of the City Attorney of San Francisco. In 2003, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco. In 2010, she was elected attorney general of California, and in 2014 she was reelected. In 2016, she was elected senator of California.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• During her tenure as district attorney of San Francisco, Kamala reached an 87% conviction rate for homicides and a 90% conviction rate for felony gun violations. She created a Hate Crimes Unit to focus on hate crimes against LGBT kids in school and an environmental crimes unit.
• As attorney general of California, Harris has an impressive list of accomplishments - here are just a few.
• In 2011, Harris achieved two of the biggest recoveries under California's False Claims Act, which totaled over $500 million. In 2012, she signed an agreement with several tech giants that required apps to clearly display their privacy policies. In 2013, she worked with lawmakers to create the Homeowner Bill of Rights, one of the strongest protections against aggressive foreclosure tactics. In 2015, she secured a $1.2 billion judgment against Corinthian Colleges for false advertising and deceptive marketing.
• As senator of California, Kamala Harris has promoted healthcare reform, citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform.
• In November 2020, Harris became the first female Vice President elect in the United States. With that, she also became the first African America, South Asian, and immigrant to achieve this title.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• In 2017, Harris garnered media attention for her tough questioning of Rod Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions. Commentators argued that those questioned were sexist, and that they wouldn’t single out Harris’ questioning if she was male.
• In 2018, Harris became the first senator to demand Secretary Nielsen’s resignation over the family separation policy at U.S. borders.
• In 2018, Harris announced her candidacy for democratic presidential nominee, but withdrew from the race at the end of 2019.
• In 2020, Kamala Harris became the first African-American, the first Asian-American, and the third female vice presidential running mate to be featured on a major party ticket; when Joe Biden was elected, she became the first female, first African-American, and first Asian vice-president elect.