Barack Obama is an American politician and attorney who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African American to hold office and he is a member of the Democratic Party.
Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan economist, and Ann Dunham, a white American from Kansas. His parents met while they were both students at the University of Hawaii, but they later separated and divorced when Obama was two years old.
Obama was raised primarily by his mother and grandparents in Hawaii and Indonesia. He spent four years in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather before returning to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. He later attended Punahou School, an elite prep school in Honolulu, where he excelled academically and became involved in sports and community service.
After graduating from Punahou, Obama attended Occidental College in California for two years before transferring to Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a degree in political science. He later attended Harvard Law School, where he served as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
After completing law school, Obama returned to Chicago, where he worked as a community organizer and as a lawyer. He also became active in local politics and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He served in the state senate for eight years before being elected to the United States Senate in 2004.
In 2008, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States. He campaigned on a platform of hope and change and won a historic election, becoming the first African American President in U.S. history.
During his presidency, Obama oversaw a number of significant policy initiatives and legislative accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which expanded access to health care to millions of Americans; the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed gay and lesbian service members to serve openly in the military; and the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to address climate change.
Obama also oversaw the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, in 2011.
In addition to his political and policy accomplishments, Obama is also known for his eloquent and inspiring speeches, as well as his use of social media and technology to connect with citizens and promote transparency and open government.
After leaving office, Obama has continued to be active in public life, promoting causes such as voting rights, climate change, and racial justice, and through his work with the Obama Foundation. He and his wife Michelle also continue to focus on their philanthropic efforts.
He has written several books such as “Dreams from My Father” in which he wrote about his search for identity and his experiences growing up in a multicultural and multiracial family and “A Promised Land” a memoir of his presidency.
