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Almost two months have passed since Eric Holder, the American with Bajan ancestry who made history in 2009 by becoming the first black person to serve as United States attorney general, surprised the country by stepping down.

And when President Barack Obama selected Loretta Lynch, a black woman from Americas south a week ago to succeed Holder, the move raised a key question to a higher level: what is Holders legacy?

The answer is important because it offers a template to Lynchs priorities after she becomes the first black woman to head the US Justice Department.

Interestingly, Holder, whose name adorns a judicial complex at the top of Horse Hill in St Joseph in Barbados, is believed to have strongly recommended Lynch to President Obama, his close friend for decades.

It was Lynchs skills as a federal prosecutor, her skill, integrity, independence and impeccable character that recommended her to Holder and the president.

Andrew Young, who shares a page with Holder in American history by being the first person of colour to break a major barrier that had prevented Blacks from occupying a specific cabinet position, in this case the permanent representative to the United Nations, believes Holders legacy is secure.

He is a wonderful, brilliant young man who really won more battles than anybody could have expected, given the system in the federal courts in which he had to work, said Young, who for many years was a close aide to the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr during the height of the civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s.

If there had been a Thurgood Marshall on the court instead of Justice Clarence Thomas, Holder would have gone down in history as one of our greatest attorneys general. Indeed, he still will go down as one of our greatest attorneys general.

He did a very good job in a very difficult situation and I hate to see him go, Young told the Sunday Sun in an interview in the Bahamas where he participated in the 19th annual Caribbean Multinational Business Conference.

I was hoping that his going if we [Democrats] had kept the majority in the US Senate, Holder would be on the US Supreme Court. I thought that may have been the reason he was going, he added.

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SEEN UP NORTH: Holder one of the great AGs

Is Loretta Lynch Another Eric Holder? Heres What We Know About Her Troubling Past
Is Loretta Lynch Another Eric Holder? Here #39;s What We Know About Her Troubling Past.

By: Adamaitis

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Is Loretta Lynch Another Eric Holder? Heres What We Know About Her Troubling Past - Video

Holder: "Our goal is to build the capacity to fight foreign terrorist fighters within the rule of law."

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration is sending prosecutors and law enforcement advisers abroad, and urging other countries to overhaul their laws to make it easier to prosecute people who return after being involved in terrorism.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the Justice Department has dispatched lawyers to 14 countries -- four in the Balkan region and 10 in North Africa and the Middle East -- to work with policymakers there.

"These personnel will provide critical assistance to our allies in order to help prosecute those who return from the Syrian region bent on committing acts of terrorism," Holder said at press conference.

Eric Holder resigns

Eric Holder resigns

Eric Holder resigns

Eric Holder resigns

Eric Holder resigns

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Holder: U.S. pushing other countries to beef up terrorism laws

Liberals and conservatives will long debate the legacy of outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder. Liberals and Democrats laud his deep commitment to civil rights and efforts to promote voting rights and criminal justice reform. Conservatives and Republicans, on the other hand, deride him as an overly partisan and ideological figure that presided over debacles such as the Operation Fast and Furious, failed to fully investigate the IRS/Tea Party scandal, and hindered their attempts to implement voter ID laws.

But thereis one area where there was some bipartisan agreementabout Eric Holders tenure: disapproval of his failure to aggressively pursue criminal charges against large financial institutions for their behavior in the lead-up to and the aftermath of the financial crisis. Despite deferred prosecution agreements linked to large(but hardly deterring) fines, the Holder Justice Department will be long remembered for its too big to jail approach to financial crime.

Naturally, much of the disappointment on Holders record centers on the failure to hold those responsible for the recent financial crisis fully accountable. But as my co-authors and I argue in our recent book Political Bubbles, building a more credible and vigilant law enforcement regimefor the financial sector is crucial for managing the systemic risk and market manipulation which could lead to crises in the future. In that regard, the light-touch approach of the past six years represents a failure of financial reform.

With the appointment of Loretta Lynch, the two-time U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, there is an opportunity for the Justice Department to take a tougher approach to financial crime. Although Lynchs public record does little to suggest that her approach to Wall Street would differ dramatically from that of Holders, a very productive use of the Senates advice and consent prerogatives would be to open a discussion about how to end the too big to jail approach. To that end, let me offer a few questions that senators might pose to Lynch:

* In reference to prosecuting corporate crime, the U.S. Attorneys manual says:

In considering collateral consequences, prosecutors must determine whether there would be disproportionate harm to investors, pension holders, customers, employees, and others who were not personally culpable, as well as impact on the public arising from the prosecution.

How would your Justice department weigh the collateral consequences of its prosecution of financial firms? Could some firms be too big, interconnected, or complex to prosecute? As chair of Holders committee on policy, did you ever push for revisions to these policies?

* In comments to a civic association last year, you suggested that it was much easier to prosecute the small players in finance rather than the big banks. Doesnt this mindset contribute to TBTJ? As AG, what will you do to improve the capacity of the department to prosecute big firms as aggressively as it does small firms? What resources and new authorities does the department need to accomplish such a goal (assuming it is one you share)?

* You played a major role in the Justice Departments settlement with HBSC over charges that laundered money for terrorists and drug cartels. There were no criminal sanctions imposed on the corporation or the individuals involved, and the monetary settlement has been widely criticized as too low given the egregiousness of HSBCs alleged behavior.

* Do you agree with Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuers rationalization of the settlement when he said:

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Monkey Cage: Will Loretta Lynch end Too Big To Jail?

Loretta Lynch Tapped to Replace Eric Holder as Attorney General

By: 24 SaaT Haber

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Loretta Lynch Tapped to Replace Eric Holder as Attorney General - Video