Barack Obama

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Who is Barack Obama?

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician, and attorney who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009-2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and on November 4th, 2008, Obama made history, becoming the first African American to be elected president.

Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the only president born outside the contiguous 48 states. In 1963 his mother, Ann Dunham met, Lolo Soetoro at the University of Hawaii, and the couple got married on March 15th, 1965. At the age of six, Obama and his mother moved to Indonesia to join his stepfather, where he attended Sekolah Dasar Katolik Santo Fransiskus Asisi (St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School) for two years, and Sekolah Dasar Negeri Menteng 01 (State Elementary School Menteng 01) for one and a half years. As a result, he was able to speak Indonesian fluently as a child. In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. He went on to attend Punahou School, with assistance from a scholarship; from fifth grade until he graduated in 1979.

Obama lived in Hawaii with his mother and half-sister, Maya Soetoro for three years, while his mother was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Hawaii. After his mother graduated, she returned to Indonesia with his half-sister, and Obama chose to stay in Hawaii with grandparents to attend high school. Ann Dunham spent nearly two decades in Indonesia, divorcing Lolo Soetoro, and earning a PhD in 1992, before she passed away in 1995 due to unsuccessful treatment for ovarian and uterine cancer.

Obama graduated from Punahou School in 1979 and moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College on a full scholarship. Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University, as a junior, where he majored in political science, with a specialty in international relations and English literature. In 1983, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and 3.7 GPA. After graduating, Obama worked at the Business International Corporation for one year, as a financial researcher and writer.

In June 1989, when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson *now Michelle Obama*. They began dating that summer, were engaged by 1991, and got married on October 3rd, 1992. According to Wikipedia, after suffering a miscarriage, Michelle Obama underwent in vitro fertilization, and conceived their two daughters, Malian Ann and Natasha "Sasha" Obama.

In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow, at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He taught constitutional law at the same University for twelve years, first as a lecturer, then as a senior lecturer from 1992 to 2004. Obama also joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a thirteen-attorney law firm that specializes in civil rights litigation, and neighborhood economic development, serving as an associate from 1993 to 1996, then counsel from 1996 to 2004. Obama's advocacy work led him to run for a seat in the Illinois State Senate, as a Democrat in 1996. According to Biography, during his years as state senator, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to draft legislation on ethics, and expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned income tax credit for the working poor.

In 2002, Obama began raising funds to run for a seat in the United Stated Senate in 2004, with help from political consultant, David Axelrod. Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004. Six weeks later, he was replaced by Alan Keyes. In the November 2004 general election, Obama won with 70% of the vote in a landslide, and sworn in as a senator on January 3rd, 2005; becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus. He went on to create a website to track all federal spending, with Republican Senator Tom Coburn. He also spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, championed improved veteran's benefits, and pushed for alternative energy development.

On February 10th, 2007, Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Although various candidates entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries, the field narrowed to Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. The following year, on June 7th, 2008, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. On August 23rd, 2008, he announced Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. On November 4th, 2008, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes and 52.9% of the popularity vote, becoming the first African American to be elected president. On April 4th, 2011, Obama announced his reelection campaign for 2012.

On November 6th, 2012, Obama won 332 electoral votes *exceeding the 270 requirements to be reelected as president* and became the first president since, Franklin D. Roosevelt to win the majority of the popular vote twice.