Photo by DENNIS COOK/AP/REX/ShutterstockJanet Reno, the first female Attorney General of the United States, died on Monday morning after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 78.
NAME: Janet Wood Reno, a name given to her by her parents who both worked as investigative reporters. Reno’s mother was a big influence on her character. When she was appointed to the Attorney General post a few weeks after her mother’s passing, she recalled her mother’s guidance. “My mother always told me to do my best, to think my best and to do right,” she said during the Rose Garden ceremony with Bill Clinton.
LIFETIME: July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016
WHAT SHE’S KNOWN FOR: Before serving in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 2001, Janet Reno began her legacy as a Miami Dade County prosecutor for cases with national implications, including narcotics, immigration and corruption. As a lawyer, she was praised for her level of honesty and professionalism. “She was a very powerful force for lawfulness,” said Walter E. Dellinger III, a Duke University law professor who worked with Reno.” She was always challenging the status quo to make sure there was a sound legal basis for what people were doing.”
And from Miami to Washington D.C., Reno held onto her integrity firmly. “I don’t know how many times she said to me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ It was never what’s the easy thing, what’s the political thing or the expedient thing to do,” previous Attorney General Eric Holder said of his predecessor. As Attorney General, Reno took full blame on the Branch Davidian controversy, where she approved a tear gas raid on the compound that killed around 80 people, including an American leader, David Koresh. She also oversaw convictions of numerous high-profile bombers, including Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, the leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as well as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the two responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. This helped lay the foundation for the pursuit of terrorists in the 21st century.
WHY WE LOVE HER: Despite being tangled in controversies during her job as attorney general, Janet Reno didn’t change for Washington. She constantly strived to work outside the influence of politics, media and popular opinion. “She was the least air-brushed candidate we have ever had for a Cabinet-level position,” Jamie Gorelick, former Deputy Attorney General stated.
FUN FACTS: Although she’s best known for being the first female Attorney General under the Clinton administration, Janet Reno wasn’t even Bill Clinton’s first or second choice. However, Clinton’s previous choices, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, faced problems after employing undocumented immigrants as nannies. So, Clinton turned to Reno. She had no connections to Clinton or Washington, but Bill Clinton knew he wanted a woman and at the time, Reno was a big-time prosecutor in Miami.
Janet Reno served eight years in the nation’s highest law enforcement post, a tenure longer than any other attorney general in the last 150 years. And in those eight years, she will be remembered for her hard work, veracity and service.
