First ‘second gentlemen’ in the shape of Harris partner Douglas Emhoff
One of the tightest races to the White House has yielded a number of firsts: Jill Biden as the Italian-American first lady and Kamala Harris, a woman of South Asian and Jamaican- American descent, as vice president.
Ms Harris’s husband Douglas Emhoff will be responsible for another first – his position has never existed in US presidential history.
He will now be known as “second gentleman”, although on his Twitter bio he still describes himself as “Kamala Harris’ Hubby”.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1964, Mr Douglas is an entertainment lawyer in California.
He will also be the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.
His father was a women’s shoe designer who moved his family to California when Mr Emhoff was in his teens.
He works at DLA Piper, an international law firm that has offices in several Gulf states including the UAE.
In an interview earlier this year, Mr Emhoff said he met his future wife on a blind date.
After getting her number, Mr Douglas left her a voicemail introducing himself which she now plays every year on their anniversary.
They were married in 2014 and have no children, although Mr Douglas has two from a previous marriage.
In the past seven years or so, Mr Emhoff has strongly supported his wife, calling her a warrior.
Mr Emhoff’s ex-wife, Kersten, is a staunch supporter of Ms Harris, even going on the campaign trail for her.
The feeling seems mutual, because Ms Harris dedicated a poem to Kirsten for Mother’s Day.
The two families have a close relationship and spend the Thanksgiving holiday together, Mr Emhoff said.
Mr Emhoff recently established a large Twitter audience with more than 530,000 followers.
Here, he constantly and consistently publishes pro-Harris content, including a photo of the pair hugging after the announcement was made that Joe Biden had won the election.
It is unclear whether he will continue to practise law or will take on other responsibilities as Ms Harris’s spouse in the White House.