Janet Reno, former US attorney general under President Bill Clinton, died Monday morning following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 78. Reno was the nation’s first ever female attorney general, serving the White House from 1993 to 2001.

Former President Bill Clinton said that he and his wife, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton were “deeply saddened” by the passing of Reno, calling her “ an extraordinary public servant who dedicated her life to advancing justice, equality, and innovations in criminal justice that would save and lift lives.”

“As Attorney General for all eight years of my Presidency, Janet worked tirelessly to make our communities safer, protect the vulnerable, and to strike the right balance between seeking justice and avoiding abuse of power.’ Clinton said on the topic of Reno’s accomplishments.

Born in 1938, Reno grew up in Miami, Florida, with parents who both worked as reporters for Miami newspapers. After attending Cornell University for her undergraduate degree, Reno enrolled at Harvard University for law school in the early 1960s. During her first year, she heard one of her heroes, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, speak at the Sanders Theater.

As part of the Clinton administration, Reno oversaw the high-profile convictions of numerous bombers including Ted Kaczynski, the domestic terrorist infamously known as the “Unabomber;” Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for their roles in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.