United States President George W Bush on Monday nominated former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, a close aide with no judicial experience, to be the new Justice of the US Supreme Court.

Miers, 60, replaces another woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired because of the illness of her husband.

She has no judicial experience, but while making the announcement, Bush pointed out that Miers has done several years of work as a lawyer both in the government and private sector and served the poor without charging any fees.

Both Bush and Miers indicated indirectly that she is a conservative. Bush expressed confidence that she would 'not legislate from the Bench' while Miers said she would 'strictly interpret the law'.

The hallmark of a liberal judge is to interpret laws in keeping with the changing mores of society while a conservative goes by the letter of the law.

First Lady Laura Bush was among the first to urge that Sandra Day O'Connor's successor should be another woman.

Monday was also the day when the new Chief Justice John Roberts was taking charge at the Supreme Court at an investiture ceremony in the presence of President Bush.

She was born in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 1945 and received her bachelor's degree in Mathematics in 1967 and JD in 1970 from Southern Methodist University.

Upon graduation, she clerked for US District Judge Joe E Estes from 1970 to 1972. In 1972, Miers became the first woman hired at Dallas's Locke Purnell Rain Harrell.

Miers never married.