THE US former judge Sandra O’Connor, the first woman appointed to US Supreme Court and considered one of its moderate voices, died today at the age of 93.

He was selected in 1981 by then-Republican President Ronald Reagan. She was the first lifetime appointment of a woman justice to the US Supreme Court. She retired in 2006, mainly so she could help her husband John O’Connor, who eventually died in 2009 of Alzheimer’s disease.

Sandra Day O’Connor herself announced in 2018 that she was leaving public life to fight “dementia, possibly Alzheimer’s”.

He died this morning in Phoenix, the capital of the State of Arizona, in the southwestern United States, the Court announced, clarifying that it resulted “from complications related to dementia in an advanced stage, possibly Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory disease.”

“A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra O’Connor blazed a historic path as our nation’s first female Supreme Court justice,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, hailing “her unwavering determination, unquestionable ability, and disarming honesty “.

“At the Supreme Court we mourn the loss of a beloved colleague, a fiercely independent defender of the rule of law and a strong civil rights activist,” he added.

Throughout her almost 25 years on the Supreme Court, through her centrist positioning she often influenced the majority in critical decisions.

In recognition of her long career and pioneering role, a Democratic president, Barack Obama, awarded her the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a US citizen, in 2009.

“As a girl from the Arizona desert, I never imagined that I would one day become the first female justice of the US Supreme Court,” the jurist who grew up on a large and remote ranch wrote in 2018, declaring that she is “deeply grateful ” for her journey despite her illness.