Biography of Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris is an American politician, senator, and the right-hand of the 46th President of the USA, Joe Biden. She is the first Black woman to be appointed Vice President of the USA.![Kamala Harris Kamala Harris](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris_3.jpg)
Childhood and Family
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in British India, in Madras. She grew up in a civil servant's family and, after finishing college, applied to the University of California, Berkeley. At 19, she moved to the U.S. to study and earned a Ph.D. in endocrinology in 1964. At the university, Shyamala met a Jamaican immigrant and economics graduate student, Donald Jasper Harris, and they married in 1963.![Kamala Harris as a child Kamala Harris as a child](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-as-a-child_100.jpg)
![Parents of Kamala Harris Parents of Kamala Harris](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-parents_63.jpg)
In 1971, Donald and Shyamala divorced, and the girls stayed with their mother in a house on Bancroft Way until 1976. Kamala and Maya spent the next five years in Montreal, Canada, where their mother took a teaching position at McGill University and a research job at the Jewish General Hospital.
![Kamala Harris with her mom in 2007 Kamala Harris with her mom in 2007](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-with-her-mom-in-2007_90.jpg)
Education
In Montreal, Kamala finished school and then returned to the United States. In 1982, she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, graduating in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics. After this, Harris entered Hastings College at the University of California and earned her law degree in 1989.Legal Career
In 1990, Harris joined the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where she worked for eight years. In early 1998, Harris became an assistant district attorney for San Francisco.During her two years in this position, Harris investigated cases of murder, sexual harassment, and robbery, and clashed with another assistant district attorney, Darrell Salomon, who proposed trying juveniles in the Superior Court instead of Juvenile Courts. Thanks to Harris, Salomon's amendment was not adopted, but the conflict led to her demotion. She later contested it, and Salomon was fired.
![Kamala Harris in her youth Kamala Harris in her youth](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-in-her-youth_46.jpg)
In 2003, Harris won the race for San Francisco District Attorney, defeating better-known and more experienced contenders Bill Fazio and Terence Hallinan. Undoubtedly, both opponents lacked Harris's determination, and voters agreed on the necessity of the crime-fighting measures she proposed.
![Kamala Harris at the beginning of her career Kamala Harris at the beginning of her career](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-at-the-beginning-of-her-career_70.jpg)
Politics
In 2015, Harris announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from California. With the support of the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden, she defeated her main opponent, Democrat Loretta Sanchez, in 2017, receiving over sixty percent of the total votes.![Kamala Harris and Joe Biden Kamala Harris and Joe Biden](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-and-joe-biden_1.jpg)
Harris also authored and co-authored many reforms in the areas of ecology, education, healthcare, and human rights, including women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Vice President
After the tragic death of George Floyd in early 2020, racial tensions in the US became a serious issue. The Democrats urged Joe Biden, the main figure in the 2020 presidential election, to consider Kamala Harris for the vice president position, not so much because of her skin color, but due to her determination and belief in a just America.Thus, in November 2020, after Biden's election victory, Kamala Harris became the first Black woman elected as Vice President of the United States.
Views
Overall, Harris's views can be described as liberal and progressive, with a focus on social justice, minority rights, and environmental issues.- Supports a healthcare system that offers Americans a choice between private and public health insurance.
- Advocates for a woman's right to abortion and opposes restrictions on it.
- Supports undocumented immigrants, especially those brought to the U.S. as children, but calls for adherence to immigration laws.
- Supports LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage and transgender rights.
- Advocates for federal marijuana legalization.
- Supports reforming the bail system, reducing the number of prisoners, and eliminating private prisons.
- Supports U.S. international alliances, opposes authoritarian regimes, and advocates for human rights protection worldwide.
- Supports the "Green New Deal" and measures to combat global warming.
- Advocates for "reasonable restrictions" on gun ownership.
Personal Life of Kamala Harris
Harris grew up embracing her Indian culture while proudly living an African-American life. She often accompanied her mother on trips to India and visited her father's homeland, maintaining connections with all her Jamaican relatives. Kamala's mother passed away from cancer in 2009, and her father, after retiring, focused on developing reform projects that promote economic growth and social justice.![Kamala Harris with her husband Douglas Emhoff Kamala Harris with her husband Douglas Emhoff](/images/content/2023/8/15/kamala-harris-with-her-husband-douglas-emhoff_19.jpg)
In the summer of 2014, Harris married successful lawyer Doug Emhoff. They dated for about six months before their wedding, having met on a blind date. Both Douglas and Kamala were 49 years old when they met, and according to Kamala, she was immediately charmed by this open and friendly man. Kamala has no children of her own, but she has warm familial relationships with her husband's adult children, Cole and Ella.
Kamala Harris Now
On July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election and named Kamala Harris as his successor.![Kamala Harris and Joe Biden Kamala Harris and Joe Biden](/images/content/2024/7/22/kamala-harris-and-joe-biden_38.jpg)
In the first day of the campaign, Harris's team raised $81 million in donations and secured the votes of 2,538 delegates (with a minimum of 1,976 needed).On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.
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