Kamala D Harris, born 20 October 1964 in Oakland, California, is an Indian-American politician and lawyer who’s serving because the forty ninth Vice President of the US since 2021 below President Joe Biden. Harris, a Democrat, grew to become the 2024 United States presidential candidate, operating in opposition to former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump after Joe Biden has dropped out of the race for the White Home.
Harris is the daughter of immigrant mother and father. Her mom, Shyamala Gopalan was an Indian-born breast most cancers researcher. who got here to the US at age 19 and earned his doctorate the identical yr Kamala was born. His father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica and have become a professor of economics at Stanford College.
Harris grew up in a multicultural family in Berkeley, California, and was influenced by her mother and father’ activism within the civil rights motion. Each mother and father had been lively in marches and demonstrations through the Sixties, typically bringing Kamala and her youthful sister, Maya, with them.
This early publicity to social justice points profoundly influenced Harris’s later profession choices.
After her mother and father divorced when she was seven, Harris was raised primarily by her mom.
Harris attended Howard College, a traditionally black college in Washington, D.C., the place she earned her bachelor’s diploma in political science and economics.
She then earned a legislation diploma from the College of California, Hastings Faculty of the Regulation and commenced her authorized profession as a deputy district legal professional in Alameda County, California, specializing within the prosecution of kid sexual assault circumstances. In 2004, Harris was elected district legal professional for San Francisco.
His tenure was characterised by a concentrate on legal justice reform, together with a program to supply first-time drug offenders the chance to earn a highschool diploma and discover employment.
This program was later acknowledged as a mannequin by the US Division of Justice.
Harris continued her rise in politics when she was elected Legal professional Basic of California in 2010, changing into the primary girl and the primary Black and South Asian American to carry the workplace.
Throughout his tenure as Legal professional Basic, he fought in opposition to company exploitation, securing a $20 billion settlement for California owners affected by the foreclosures disaster and upholding client safety legal guidelines.
In 2017, Harris was sworn in as a member of the US Senate.
There he gained nationwide consideration for his sharp questioning of two Supreme Court docket nominees whereas serving on the Judiciary Committee.
He additionally labored to maintain the American individuals secure from overseas threats and crafted bipartisan laws to assist safe American elections whereas serving on the Senate Choose Committee on Intelligence.
On January 20, 2021, Harris was sworn in as Vice President of the USmaking historical past as the primary girl, the primary Black American, and the primary South Asian American to carry the workplace.