boston, feb. 5 mdash the harvard law review, generally considered the most prestigious in the country, elected the first black president in its 104 year history today. The new president of the review is barack obama, a 28 year old graduate of columbia university who spent four years heading a community development program for poor blacks on chicago's south side before enrolling in law school.

His late father, barack obama, was a finance minister in kenya and his mother, ann dunham, is an american anthropologist now doing fieldwork in indonesia. ''but it's important that stories like mine aren't used to say that everything is o.k. You have to remember that for every one of me, there are hundreds or thousands of black students with at least equal talent who don't get a chance,'' he said, alluding to poverty or growing up in a drug environment.

Law reviews, which are edited by students, play a double role at law schools, providing a chance for students to improve their legal research and writing, and at the same time offering judges and scholars a forum for new legal arguments. The harvard law review is generally considered the most widely cited of the student law reviews. Obama said: ''i personally am interested in pushing a strong minority perspective. But as president of the law review, i have a limited role as only first among equals.'' therefore, mr. Obama said, he would concentrate on making the review a ''forum for debate,'' bringing in new writers and pushing for livelier, more accessible writing.

The president of the law review usually goes on to serve as a clerk for a judge on the federal court of appeals for a year, and then as a clerk for an associate justice of the supreme court. Obama said he planned to spend two or three years in private law practice and then return to chicago to re enter community work, either in politics or in local organizing. ''for better or for worse, people will view it as historically significant,'' said prof. Obama was elected after a meeting of the review's 80 editors that convened sunday and lasted until early this morning, a participant said. Until the 1970's the editors were picked on the basis of grades, and the president of the law review was the student with the highest academic rank. Richardson, the former attorney general, and irwin griswold, a dean of the harvard law school and solicitor general under presidents lyndon b. That system came under attack in the 1970's and was replaced by a program in which about half the editors are chosen for their grades and the other half are chosen by fellow students after a special writing competition.

The new system, disputed when it began, was meant to help insure that minority students became editors of the law review. Harvard, like a number of other top law schools, no longer ranks its law students for any purpose including a guide to recruiters. Black enrollment at harvard law school, after a dip in the mid 1980's, has reached a record high this year, said joyce curll, the director of admissions. Of the 1,620 students in the three year school, 12.5 percent this year are blacks, she said, and 14 percent of the first year class are black. Nationwide enrollment by blacks in undergraduate colleges has dropped in recent years. Obama succeeds peter yu, a first generation chinese american, as president of the law review.

Yu plans to serve as a clerk for chief judge patricia wald on the of the united states court of appeals for the federal circuit. Obama's election ''was a choice on the merits, but others may read something into it.'' the first female editor of the harvard law review was susan estrich, in 1977, who recently resigned as a professor at harvard law school to take a similar post at the university of southern california. Photo: barack obama was elected yesterday as president of the harvard law review. The new york times/jim bourg correction: february 7, 1990, wednesday, late edition final because of an editing error, an article yesterday about the election of barack obama as president of the harvard law review misidentified the united states court on which patricia m. It is the court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit, not for the federal circuit. Constitutional law scholar laurence tribe, author of a comprehensive new book, uncertain justice : the roberts court and the constitution.

During a broad discussion on tuesday with the fiscal times about some of the most significant cases to come before the roberts court and how those decisions may profoundly alter american life, tribe reflected on the president as a young man. Obama was his research assistant for two and a half years at harvard law school where tribe has taught for four decades. I met him when he was a first year law student, said tribe, referring to what would have been the fall of 1988. This kid comes in wearing jeans and a sweatshirt – lanky kid, strange name – but i was quite amazed by him and we talked for a long time, even though he hadn’t taken constitutional law yet, let alone take it from me. He asked me whether i would be interested in giving him some research assignments, tribe said of obama. In all of my years of teaching, i don’t think i’ve ever been that impressed with a first year law student. He worked with me on one of my most challenging articles in the harvard law review, ‘ the curvature of constitutional space: what lawyers can learn from modern physics.’ the article appeared in november 1989, volume 103 of the harvard law review.

If you look at that article, recounted tribe, the first footnote acknowledges the help of barack obama and, of all people, gene sperling former director of the national economic council under president obama. The footnote thanks obama, sperling and several others for their analytic and research assistance. Tribe said obama also worked with him on a book called abortion: the clash of absolutes, and a number of other things. Even back then, says tribe, obama had the ability to see all sides of complex issues – and not necessarily to his detriment.

He displayed the ability to see a multifaceted problem in all of its complexity – and you want presidents to do that. The separate question of decision making style, of managerial style, how somebody handles himself or herself on the world stage – i obviously had no foreknowledge of that. He really has deep insight into a number of things, including physics, and history, and political science, and seemingly a lot of law, though this was before he finished law school. top reads from the fiscal times: get off the dole and get a job: ben carson bloomberg tries to beat powerful nra at its own game ten states with the worst highway spending woes obama during his harvard years. Photo: harvard university news office by now, it is not news that barack obama was elected president of the harvard law review in the early 90s.

But what has gone largely ignored is what happened after that took place. What motivated the young obama? what was his focus during his tenure? does that time reveal anything about who he is? in that spirit, theblaze went digging. What we found is worth noting, and reveals that the obama of old was someone quite interested in race, especially in a newly uncovered school newspaper interview he gave. Additionally, he may have not been as popular with conservatives as you’ve been told.

After his election to the presidency of the harvard law review, barack obama told the harvard law record the student newspaper of harvard law school – that he is especially interested in constitutional law, noting the ways in which issues of race relations and resource allocation ‘are often played out in constitutional terms,’ according to archives recently viewed by theblaze. His work as a community organizer has given him an appreciation for business law as well, the article, published after obama’s harvard election by paul tar and john thornton, says. Those interested in public policy have to think about how the private sector can be harnessed to promote urban development, he told the paper. And while obama owed his election to the harvard law school presidency to conservatives, he nonetheless thanked controversial black professors.