BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Eric Holder, who traces his family roots to the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Philip in Barbados, is President Elect Barack Obama’s pick for the United States’ next attorney general.
A former D.C. Superior Court judge, U.S. Attorney and Deputy Attorney General, Holder is currently a senior legal advisor to President-elect Barack Obama, and was instrumental in selecting Senator Joseph Biden as Obama’s vice-presidential running mate.
Eric Holder
Pending Senate confirmation, Holder would make history as the first African-American attorney general of the United States.
Holder was born and raised in a Bajan home in Queens, New York, where his parents placed large emphasis on education in his upbringing. With family currently in St. Michael, Barbados, Holder continues to visit the island frequently.
Ties between the U.S. and Barbados date back to as early as 1751 when Barbados welcomed America’s very first president, George Washington. His first trip out of the US to the sun-drenched island functioned as a possible cure for his brother Lawrence’s ailment.
In 2007, the plantation house that George and Lawrence rented was restored and is now a museum named the George Washington House (www.georgewashingtonbarbados.org) open to the public. More recently, during an official visit to Barbados with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton unveiled a plaque outside the George Washington house that recognized the bond between Barbados and the US.
