Barack Obama

Barack Obama
Official portrait, 2012
44th President of the United States
In office January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
Vice President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	George W. Bush
Succeeded by	Donald Trump
United States Senator from Illinois
In office January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
Preceded by	Peter Fitzgerald
Succeeded by	Roland Burris
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district
In office January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by	Alice Palmer
Succeeded by	Kwame Raoul
Personal details
Born	Barack Hussein Obama II (1961-08-04) August 4, 1961 (age 62) Honolulu, Hawaii U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
Children	Malia Sasha
Parents	Barack Obama Sr. Ann Dunham
Relatives	Obama family
Residence	Kalorama, Washington, D.C.
Education	Columbia University Harvard University
Occupation	politician lawyer author
Awards	Awards and honors
Signature
Website	Official website Obama Foundation White House Archives
Barack Obama delivers remarks on the death of Osama bin Laden Recorded May 2, 2011

Barack Hussein Obama II (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/ (listen); born August 4, 1961)^[1] is an American politician and attorney. He was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African-American president in U.S. history. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as member of the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 and a United States senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008.

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He married Michelle Robinson in 1992. They have two daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.

Obama was inaugurated in January 2009 as the first African American mixed-race president. As president, he slowly ended US participation in the Iraq War, having prepared the country to defend itself. The al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed while Obama was in office. Also, he contributed to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often called "Obamacare") which changed many health care laws. He also enacted many acts to create public works jobs to help the economy. He became the first president to openly express support for gay marriage, and proposed gun control as a result of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

He was reelected in 2012. During his second term, the government partially shut down. He was able to open diplomatic relations with Cuba. In 2015, the United States joined the Paris Climate Agreement. He attempted to nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court but was unsuccessful in doing so.

Obama left office in January 2017 and was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump. He now lives in Washington, D.C. He has ranked high in presidential opinion polls.^[2]

1. ↑ "Birth Certificate of Barack Obama". Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com. August 9, 1961. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
2. ↑ "Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan". Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2021-04-27.