Loretta Elizabeth Lynch is an American attorney who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1999 to 2001 and again from 2010 to 2015. As a U.S. attorney, Lynch oversaw federal prosecutions in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island.
Lynch is a Harvard Law School graduate. She then practiced law in New York and became a federal prosecutor in 1990, rising to become head of the Eastern District office. She later returned to private law practice until she became the top district prosecutor again. From 2003 to 2005, she served on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York board.
In November 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to succeed Eric Holder as Attorney General. In February 2015, the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate recommended her confirmation by a 12–8 vote, with all Democrats of the committee and three Republicans in favor.