Kamala Harris is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th Vice President of the United States. She is recognized as a historic political figure, becoming the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the office.

Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, United States. Born under the zodiac sign Libra, she is 61 years old. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was an Indian-born scientist, while her father, Donald J. Harris, is a Jamaican-born economist and professor at Stanford University. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old. She has a younger sister named Maya Harris.

Due to her mother’s academic work, Kamala Harris spent much of her childhood in Canada from the age of twelve until completing high school. She later returned to the United States and attended Howard University in Washington DC., a historically Black university, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics.

After completing her undergraduate education, Kamala Harris obtained her law degree from Hastings College of the Law near San Francisco. Upon graduation, she began her legal career as a prosecutor in Alameda County, one of California’s regions with high crime rates.

In 2003, Kamala Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco, becoming the first Black woman and the first person of Asian descent to hold the position. During her tenure, she gained national attention for her approach to criminal justice reform.

In 2010, Kamala Harris was elected Attorney General of California, becoming the first woman to serve in that role. She remained in office until 2014. As attorney general, she launched the “Back on Track” program, which allowed first-time nonviolent drug offenders to pursue education or employment instead of incarceration. She also implemented initiatives focused on racial justice and criminal procedure reform and introduced the use of body cameras for police officers to monitor incidents involving lethal force.

In 2016, Kamala Harris was elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat from California. Her election paved the way for her becoming, in 2017, the second Black woman and the first Indian American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

During her time in the Senate, Kamala Harris served on committees overseeing homeland security, government affairs, intelligence, budget, and judicial matters. She gained widespread attention for her pointed questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during Senate hearings concerning sexual assault allegations.

As a senator, Kamala Harris introduced a resolution in 2019 calling for the recognition of the 1915 events as genocide, although the proposal was later blocked by President Donald Trump. She was also an outspoken critic of Trump’s foreign policy, particularly regarding the Middle East and the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

Following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Kamala Harris called for a reassessment of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, Kamala Harris entered the Democratic primary race for President of the United States. Although her campaign initially gained strong momentum, declining poll numbers led her to withdraw from the race in December 2019. Her platform focused on judicial reform and racial justice.

Three months after ending her presidential campaign, Kamala Harris endorsed Joe Biden for president, stating that she would do everything possible to help him become the next president of the United States.

Kamala Harris married attorney Douglas Emhoff on August 22, 2014.

In the November 3, 2020, U.S. presidential election, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the presidency and selected Kamala Harris as his running mate. She was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2021.

In the November 5, 2024, U.S. presidential election, Kamala Harris ran as the Democratic nominee for president but was defeated by Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Source: Biyografiler.com