Deputy Attorney General: Carol E. Dinkins

Carol E. Dinkins was the 20th Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Upon her appointment as Deputy Attorney General in May 1984, Dinkins was the first woman to serve as the Department’s second-ranking official. She served as Deputy Attorney General until April 1985.

At the time of her nomination by President Ronald Reagan, Ms. Dinkins was Assistant Attorney General for the Land and Natural Resources Division, a position she attained in April 1981. During her tenure there, the Division implemented the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (also known as CERCLA or Superfund) and created the Environmental Crimes Section.

President Reagan named Ms. Dinkins in December 1981 to chair his Task Force on Legal Equity for Women, which he established by executive order to provide for the systematic elimination of regulatory and procedural barriers that preclude women from receiving equal treatment from federal activities.

Ms. Dinkins made Texas legal history in 1980 when she became the first female partner of a major law firm (Vinson & Elkins) in that state.

A native of Texas, Ms. Dinkins received her B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and her J.D. from the University of Houston College of Law in 1971.