On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Here, Kagan — who has reportedly been dreaming of being a Supreme Court justice since high school — poses outside the court before taking the oath as solicitor general in March 2009.
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Obama interviews Kagan in the Oval Office.
White House Photo by Pete Souza
Kagan was the dean of Harvard Law School before becoming solicitor general — the first woman to hold either position. Here, she gives a speech after accepting the John R. Kramer Outstanding Law School Dean Award at the 2008 Equal Justice Works awards dinner. Equal Justice Works is a group of lawyers focused on public service.
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Kagan testifies during her confirmation hearing to become solicitor general in February 2009.
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President Obama calls Kagan on May 9 to tell her she’ll be his nominee.
White House Photo by Pete Souza
Obama, accompanied by Vice President Biden, officially announces Kagan as his nominee.
“She believes as I do that exposure to a broad array of perspectives is the foundation not just of a sound legal education but for a successful life in the law,” he said.
CNN
Kagan teaching a class at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was a professor from 1991 to 1995.
Photo by University of Chicago Law School
Kagan at the law school’s student-professor trivia contest in 1992.
Photo by University of Chicago Law School
Kagan attended Princeton University as an undergrad and worked on the school’s newspaper. She graduated from Princeton in 1981. Here, she appears in an advertisement recruiting students for the paper.
Courtesy of Princeton University
Kagan’s Princeton yearbook photo.
Courtesy of Princeton University
With Gen. David Petraeus in 2009, Kagan participates in the promotion ceremony of a student of Harvard Law School, where she was dean.
Courtesy of Harvard Law School
The promotion ceremony.
Courtesy of Harvard Law School
