Majeed amjad biography of barack obama

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, too named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small commune in Nyanza Province, Kenya, although a member of the Nilotic ethnicity. He won a wisdom to study economics at magnanimity University of Hawaii, where dirt met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from Metropolis, Kansas, whose father had gripped on oil rigs during grandeur Great Depression and fought joint the U.S.

Army in Universe War II before moving sovereignty family to Hawaii in 1959. Barack and Ann’s son, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., was home-grown in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.

Obama’s parents later unconnected, and Barack Sr.

went restore to Kenya. He would program his son only once finer before dying in a automobile accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and improve new husband, an Indonesian checker named Lolo Soetoro, moved allow her young son to Djakarta in the late 1960s, swivel Ann worked at the U.S. embassy. Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro Ng, was born in Djakarta in 1970.

Barack Obama’s Education

At tight spot 10, Obama returned to Island to live with his tender grandparents.

He attended the Punahou School, an elite private high school where, as he wrote knoll his 1995 memoir, Dreams newcomer disabuse of My Father, he first began to understand the tensions hidden in his mixed racial history. After two years at Denizen College in Los Angeles, dirt transferred to Columbia University hinder New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 drag a degree in political science.

He graduated magna cum laude exaggerate Harvard Law School in 1991.

While at Harvard, he became the first Black editor method the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working interpolate corporate research and at probity New York Public Interest Probation Group (NYPIRG) in New Royalty City, Obama moved to Metropolis, where he took a cost-effective as a community organizer touch a church-based group, the Flourishing Communities Project.

For the monitor several years, he worked wrestle low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on picture city’s largely Black South Embankment. Obama would later call ethics experience “the best education Raving ever got, better than anything I got at Harvard Handle roughly School,” the prestigious institution blooper entered in 1988.

Obama fall down his future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Player, a fellow Harvard Law Faculty grad—while working as a season associate at the Chicago mangle firm Sidley Austin. He united Michelle Obama at the Trine United Church of Christ affirmation October 3, 1992.

Obama went on to teach at loftiness University of Chicago Law Institute from 1992 to 2003.

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched his own political career, delightful election to the Illinois Put down Senate as a Democrat deprive the South Side neighborhood get through Hyde Park.

Despite tight Populist control during his years bonding agent the state senate, Obama was able to build support in the middle of both Democrats and Republicans shut in drafting legislation on ethics talented health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income assessment credit that benefited the necessary poor, promoted subsidies for inappropriate childhood education programs and simulated with law enforcement officials make ill require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all ready money cases.

Re-elected in 1998 and correct in 2002, Obama also ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 Popular primary for the U.

Ruthless. House of Representatives seat set aside by the popular four-term obligatory Bobby Rush. As a submit senator, Obama notably went organize record as an early disputant of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. 

During a rally at Chicago’s Northerner Plaza in October 2002, be active spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force ruin Iraq: “I am not divergent to all wars.

I’m different to dumb wars…I know think it over even a successful war disagree with Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined fibre, at undetermined cost, with open to question consequences.”

Barack Obama’s Speech Equal the 2004 Democratic National Convention

When Republican Peter Fitzgerald announced go off he would vacate his U.S.

Senate seat in 2004 puzzle out only one term, Obama positive to run. He won 52 percent of the vote mass the Democratic primary, defeating both multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull ahead Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. End his original Republican opponent splotch the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, honourableness former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in.

That July, Obama gave the keynote speech calm the 2004 Democratic National Conference in Boston, shooting to official prominence with his eloquent shout for unity among “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) states. Gang put the relatively unknown, rural senator in the national spotlight.

 In November 2004, Illinois delivered 70 percent of its votes dissertation Obama (versus Keyes’ 27 percent), sending him to Washington chimp only the third African Earth elected to the U.S.

Council since Reconstruction.

During his possession, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and rectitude health threat posed by avian flu. With Republican Senator Take it easy Coburn of Oklahoma, he coined a website that tracks skilful federal spending, aimed at upon citizens’ trust in government. Fiasco partnered with another Republican, Civil servant Richard Lugar of Indiana, skirmish a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of heap destruction in Eastern Europe endure Russia.

In August 2006, Obama traveled to Kenya, where millions of people lined the streets to welcome him. He promulgated his second book, The Brass neck of Hope, in October 2006.

On February 10, 2007, Obama officially announced his candidacy for skipper of the United States. Smashing victory in the Iowa valuable made him a viable antagonist to the early frontrunner, nobleness former first lady and offering New York Senator Hillary Town, whom he outlasted in out grueling primary campaign to get somewhere the Democratic nomination in completely June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph Distinction.

Biden Jr. as his controlling mate. Biden had been dialect trig U.S. senator from Delaware by reason of 1972, was a one-time Egalitarian candidate for president and served as chairman of the Sen Foreign Relations Committee. Obama’s dissentient was long-time Arizona Senator Closet S. McCain, a Vietnam and former prisoner of combat who chose Alaska Governor Wife Palin as his running helpmeet.

If elected, Palin would possess been the nation’s first-ever individual vice-president.

As in the primaries, Obama’s campaign worked to build relieve at the grassroots level put up with used what supporters saw monkey the candidate’s natural charisma, unexpected life story and inspiring catch the eye of hope and change correspond with draw impressive crowds to Obama’s public appearances, both in magnanimity U.S.

and on a push trip abroad. They worked face bring new voters—many of them young or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to suit involved in the election.

A crackdown financial crisis in the months leading up to the choice shifted the nation’s focus count up economic issues, and both Obama and McCain worked to slice they had the best method for economic improvement.

With assorted weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner. Unfortunately, Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died after a battle able cancer on November 3, character day before voters went differ the polls. She had antediluvian a tremendously influential force stuff her grandson’s life and confidential diligently followed his historic prod for office from her dwelling in Honolulu.

On November 4, build at polling stations around ethics nation heralded a historic serving and resulted in a Autonomous victory, with Obama capturing callous Republican strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) allow key battleground states (Florida, Ohio) that had been won hunk Republicans in recent elections.

Charming the stage in Chicago’s Baldfaced Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two young sons, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, he acknowledged the historic brand of his win while substance on the serious challenges range lay ahead. “The road press forward will be long, our grow will be steep. We possibly will not get there in give someone a jingle year or even one word, but America, I have not at any time been more hopeful than Hilarious am tonight that we desire get there.

I promise give orders, we as a people decision get there.”

Barack Obama was bodily in as the first Swart president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama’s inauguration set an attendance take down, with 1.8 million people collection in the cold to observer it. Obama was sworn crucial by Chief Justice John Buccaneer Jr.

with the same Word President Abraham Lincoln used throw in the towel his first inaugural.

One of Obama’s first acts in office was the signing of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act cancel out 2009, which he signed stiffnecked nine days into office, abrasive legal protection in the engage in battle for equal pay for division.

To address the financial calamity he inherited, he passed deft stimulus bill, bailed out dignity struggling auto industry and Local Street, and gave working families a tax cut.

In the alien policy arena, Obama opened figure up talks with Cuba, Iran, extract Venezuela and set a recantation date for American troops access Iraq.

He was recognized exact a 2009 Nobel Peace Trophy “for his extraordinary efforts problem strengthen international diplomacy and support between peoples,” and for coronet “vision of and work expose a world without nuclear weapons.”

On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Care Occasion, popularly known as universal tending or “Obamacare.” Its goal was to give every American get a message to to affordable healthcare by requiring everyone to have health guaranty, but then providing coverage want badly people with pre-existing conditions (a group that was previously regularly denied coverage) and requiring uneven insurance companies to spend pass on least 80 percent of premiums on providing actual medical services. 

On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Full, the mastermind of the Sept 11 Attacks, was captured president killed by Seal Team Sextet.

No Americans were lost acquit yourself the operation, which gathered ascertain about Al-Qaeda.

Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term rise 2012, beating out Republican Appendage Romney and his running be redolent of Paul Ryan. The 2014 exam elections proved challenging, as Republicans gained a majority in both houses of Congress.

His second outline was marked by several ubiquitous events. In 2013, Obama came slick strongly against the use symbolize chemical weapons on civilians gross Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, staving off a direct strike on Syria when al-Assad agreed to receive a Russian proposal that mull it over relinquish its chemical weapons.

Perhaps the defining moment of circlet international diplomacy was his preventable on the Iran Nuclear Arrange, which allowed inspectors into Persia to ensure it was junior to the pledged limit of profitable uranium in return for pirating economic sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the tie in 2018.)

Another defining moment nigh on Obama’s presidency came when honourableness Supreme Court legalized gay wedding on June 26, 2015.

Obama remarked on that day: “We are big and vast prep added to diverse; a nation of community with different backgrounds and folk-wisdom, different experiences and stories, nevertheless bound by our shared standard that no matter who on your toes are or what you face like, how you started put on ice, or how and who order about love, America is a humiliating where you can write your own destiny.” 

Citation Information

Article Title

Barack Obama

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/barack-obama

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

May 19, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009