Harold Hongju Koh

Why He Matters

Few Obama appointees have drawn as much scrutiny as Koh. A former Yale law school dean and ex-State Department official, Koh is one of the leading U.S. experts on international law, national security law and human rights. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, testified in front of Congress, and written eight books and countless law review articles. He advises Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on every legal issue, formulatating foreign policy and promoting U.S. participation in the development of international law.

Koh's appointment was praised by legal scholars and law professors alike. "President Obama could have named a pair of mild-mannered tax attorneys to these high government positions," wrote Slate's Dahlia Lithwick about Koh and Dawn Johnsen, Obama's pick to head the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. "Instead, he opted to pick precisely the sorts of people we most need there: fierce advocates who care deeply about these agencies and the law as it applies to them."

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