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PROFILE: Newly elected US Vice President Kamala Harris

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Kamala Harris (56) is the first female and African American Vice President-elect. Daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, Harris has knocked down barriers throughout her career.

She was the first woman to serve as San Francisco’s district attorney, elected to that office in 2003, and the first woman to serve as California’s attorney general, elected to that office in 2010.

Joe Biden and Harris will head the 46th US presidential administration in 2021.

In the video below, SABC correspondent in India Neha Poonia filed this report on Kamala Harris:

 

Harris, a senator from California, made her own run for the White House in 2020 before ending it and endorsing Biden. She dropped out of the race last December after a campaign hurt by her wavering views on healthcare and indecision about embracing her past as a prosecutor.

She is a former prosecutor and state attorney general in California, and well known for her sometimes aggressive questioning style in the Senate, most notably of Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Harris juggled her running mate duties with her day job in the Senate.

She is expected to be a top adviser on judicial nominations. Her background in criminal justice could help a Biden administration tackle the issues of racial equality and policing after the country was swept by protests this year.

Harris is married to attorney, Douglas Emhoff, who has been a fixture on the campaign trail. His two children from a previous marriage refer to their stepmother as “Momala.”

Supporters of President-elect Biden and Vice Kamala Harris celebrate the win over Trump: 

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