Senator Tim Kaine ’83
Democratic vice-presidential pick Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia and currently that state’s junior U.S. senator, is a 1983 graduate of Harvard Law School. His wife, Anne Holton received her law degree from HLS the same year. She is the Virginia secretary of education.
Kaine was elected to the Senate in 2012. He serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations and Aging Committees. He is ranking member of the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development.
Credit: Harvard Law SchoolKaine graduated from HLS in 1983.
He first entered politics in 1994, serving as a city council member in Richmond, Va., then as the city’s mayor. He became lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2002 and was inaugurated as Virginia’s 70th governor in 2006. He went on to serve as chairman of the Democratic National Party.
After graduating from Harvard Law School, Holton worked as a legal aid lawyer serving low-income families. She served as a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge from 1998 until 2005, when Kaine was elected governor. She resigned to take on duties as the first lady of Virginia. From 2000 until 2003 Holton also served as chief judge for the court.
Both Kaine and Holton have participated actively in the life of HLS over the years since they graduated, as hosts of reunion celebrations in Virginia and as panelists at HLS events. In 2012 they returned to the school to speak to students on “How to Make a Lasting Public Interest Career Part of a Happy Life.”
![[L-R] HLS Professor Carol Steiker, Anne Holton '83 and Tim Kaine '83](https://today.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/3.6.12KaineHolton070-1024x683.jpg)
[L-R] HLS Professor Carol Steiker, Anne Holton ’83 and Tim Kaine ’83
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