Janet Reno, 1st Woman Attorney General, Dead at 78

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL — Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, the first woman to ever hold the position, died Monday from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. She was 78.

Reno was named the 78th attorney general of the United States on March 12, 1993, by President Bill Clinton. She went on to become the longest serving attorney general in the 20th century, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Her eight-year tenure, though historic, was also marred by some of the most controversial events surrounding the Clinton presidency.

Reno’s appointment to attorney general came in the middle of the siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The siege began in February, prior to Reno's appointment, and ended in a deadly FBI raid on April 19, 1993. More than 70 people died as the standoff came to an explosive end.

The highly publicized international custody dispute involving Elian Gonzalez bookmarked Reno’s time in office. That dispute reached a crescendo in 2000 when the young Cuban refugee was seized by federal agents and returned to his father in Cuba.

Reno's deliberate manner and use of lines like "I don't do spin" made her a favorite targeted for "Saturday Night Live" and late-night television hosts.

Reno, a Miami native born on July 21, 1938, returned to the Sunshine State after serving as attorney general. Once home, she launched a campaign to unseat Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002. That bid was wholly unsuccessful, blamed partially on resentment from South Florida’s Cuban community over the return of Gonzalez to Cuba.

Reno’s passing comes one day before the General Election in which another Clinton is seeking the White House.

Current Attorney General Loretta Lynch took to Twitter Monday morning to express condolences following Reno's passing.

"Janet Reno was an inspiration and trailblazer for so many women in law enforcement and government, including me," Lynch wrote. "She will be dearly missed."

Reno was a 1960 graduate of Cornell University and a 1963 graduate of Harvard Law School. She served as staff director for the Florida House of Representatives Judicial Committee, worked in private practice and also served as a consultant to the Florida State Senate Criminal Justice Committee before her federal appointment.

Reno was the president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association from 1984 to 1985. She was a member of the Special Committee on Criminal Justice in a Free Society of the American Bar Association from 1986-1988. In 1992, she served as a member of the Task Force on Minorities and the Justice System of the American Bar Association.

Reno was awarded the Herbert Harley Award, American Judicature Society in 1981. In 1983, she was awarded the Public Administrator of the Year, American Society for Public Administration, South Florida Chapter. She received the Medal of Honor Award from the Florida Bar Association in 1990.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Paul Scicchitano contributed to this story.

Image by Elvert Barnes via Flickr