Elena Kagan

Quite a few names were mentioned as candidates to succeed retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, but, as it turned out, the appointment went to the one who had been considered the front-runner from the beginning. This morning, President Obama announced that he will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 50, to the Supreme Court.

She was appointed to her current job by Obama in 2009. According to the Department of Justice website: "The Office of the Solicitor General is tasked to conduct all litigation on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court, and to supervise the handling of litigation in the federal appellate courts." Kagan is a former law professor, who also worked in the White House counsel's office during Bill Clinton's presidency. Her bachelor's degree is from Princeton, and her law degree from Harvard.

I recently commented on my other blog about some discussions regarding Kagan, during the search process.

Kagan is 30 years younger than former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and 27 years younger than Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But, as was the case with those other women, Kagan had her share of "first woman to" situations. She is the first female solicitor general, and was the first female dean of Harvard Law School.