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First female US Supreme Court judge has died

Former US Supreme Court judge Sandra Day O’Connor has died at the age of 93.

Appointed by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she was the first woman to sit on the court.

She served for 24 years, before retiring in 2006 to care for her husband.

‘Fiercely independent’

A statement from the Supreme Court said that she died this morning (1 December) in Phoenix, Arizona, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.

Chief Justice John G Roberts said that Justice O’Connor had “blazed an historic trail” as the US’s first female justice of the Supreme Court.

“She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candour,” he continued, adding that the court was mourning the loss of “a beloved colleague, a fiercely independent defender of the rule of law, and an eloquent advocate for civics education”.