Kamala Devi Harris (b. October 20, 1964) is an Americanpolitician and attorney who served from 2021 to 2025 as the 49th vice president of the United States. She is notably the first woman, and the first person with Black and South Asian ancestry to hold the position of Vice President of the United States and the highest-ranking female and Asian American official in U.S. history. Harris represented California in the U.S. senate from 2017 to 2021 and was attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.
Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her law career in the office of the district attorney of Alameda County. Harris was recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later to the office of the city attorney of San Francisco. She was elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2003 and attorney general of California in 2010.
Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate; their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 presidential election. In July 2024, after Biden withdrew his candidacy from the 2024 presidential election due to health concerns over his advanced age, Harris launched her own presidential campaign with his endorsement. She later became the nominee and selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate. She ultimately lost the election to the Republican nominees, former president Trump and Ohio senator JD Vance.
