The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

US president-elect Barack Obama has named longtime lawyer Eric Holder to be attorney general, which if confirmed would make him the first African-American ever to hold the post, US media said. Holder, who served as deputy attorney general under former president Bill Clinton, has accepted Obama's invitation to head the Justice Department, Newsweek magazine said, citing legal sources close to the presidential transition.

Obama's transition team did not immediately comment on the report, which was later confirmed by NBC news.

"Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted," Newsweek said, adding that "the announcement is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the Treasury and State departments."

Holder would face Senate confirmation hearings in order to officially take on the post, which would put him at the head of the Justice Department as the US government's chief law enforcement officer.

Holder was co-chief along with Caroline Kennedy of Obama's vice-presidential selection process and, like Obama, is a fellow alumnus of Columbia University in New York.

"He was on the short list from the beginning and obvious choice," Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff told CNN.

"Also, a symbolic choice. This will be the first, he will be the first African-American to head the Justice Department, and that's a pretty big deal in its own right."