Bob Anderson ’83 Tapped to Serve as Solicitor of U.S. Department of Interior

President Biden today nominated Robert (Bob) Anderson '83 to serve as solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Anderson has served as Interior’s principal deputy solicitor since January 20. 

Anderson was a law professor at the University of Washington for 20 years, directing its Native American Law Center. He has been the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School for the past 12 years. He is a co-author and editor of the leading federal Indian Law treatise, Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law, and is a co-author of a leading textbook on American Indian Law. He has extensive expertise and has published many articles in the fields of natural resources law, water law, and American Indian law.   

Anderson served as the associate solicitor for Indian Affairs and counselor to the secretary under Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. He began his career as a staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, where he practiced law for 12 years. Anderson also served on the transition agency review teams for President-elect Obama and President-elect Biden. 

Anderson grew up in Ely, Minnesota and is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.