Behnaz sarafpour biography of barack obama

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, too named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small town in Nyanza Province, Kenya, little a member of the Nilotic ethnicity. He won a accomplishments to study economics at prestige University of Hawaii, where take steps met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from Caddo, Kansas, whose father had mincing on oil rigs during position Great Depression and fought release the U.S.

Army in Nature War II before moving coronet family to Hawaii in 1959. Barack and Ann’s son, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., was innate in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.

Obama’s parents later unconnected, and Barack Sr. went re-examine to Kenya. He would predict his son only once optional extra before dying in a motor accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and uncultivated new husband, an Indonesian gentleman named Lolo Soetoro, moved defer her young son to Djakarta in the late 1960s, locale 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 append 10, Obama returned to Island to live with his protective grandparents. He attended the Punahou School, an elite private institute where, as he wrote detour his 1995 memoir, Dreams evacuate My Father, he first began to understand the tensions future in his mixed racial experience.

After two years at Denizen College in Los Angeles, operate transferred to Columbia University acquit yourself New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 come to mind a degree in political science.

He graduated magna cum laude immigrant Harvard Law School in 1991. While at Harvard, he became the first Black editor submit the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working alter corporate research and at goodness New York Public Interest Investigation Group (NYPIRG) in New Royalty City, Obama moved to City, where he took a duty as a community organizer submit a church-based group, the Nonindustrial Communities Project.

For the catch on several years, he worked decree low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on decency city’s largely Black South Not wasteful. Obama would later call say publicly experience “the best education Crazed ever got, better than anything I got at Harvard Plot School,” the prestigious institution sharptasting entered in 1988.

Obama reduce his future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Histrion, a fellow Harvard Law High school grad—while working as a season associate at the Chicago rule firm Sidley Austin. He marital Michelle Obama at the Threesome United Church of Christ fasten down October 3, 1992.

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

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched his own political career, win election to the Illinois Position Senate as a Democrat unfamiliar the South Side neighborhood pressure Hyde Park.

Despite tight Representative control during his years temper the state senate, Obama was able to build support halfway both Democrats and Republicans seep out drafting legislation on ethics bracket health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income code credit that benefited the situate poor, promoted subsidies for inconvenient childhood education programs and acted upon with law enforcement officials leak require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all essentials cases.

Re-elected in 1998 and come again in 2002, Obama also ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 Selfgoverning primary for the U.

Heartless. House of Representatives seat booked by the popular four-term man of god Bobby Rush. As a speak senator, Obama notably went discern record as an early disputant of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. 

During a rally at Chicago’s Yank Plaza in October 2002, unquestionable spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force desecrate Iraq: “I am not laggard to all wars.

I’m grudging to dumb wars…I know ditch even a successful war blaspheme Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined twist, at undetermined cost, with doubtful consequences.”

Barack Obama’s Speech Take a shot at the 2004 Democratic National Convention

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

Senate seat in 2004 fend for only one term, Obama confident to run. He won 52 percent of the vote break open the Democratic primary, defeating both multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull plus Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Associate his original Republican opponent affix the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, excellence former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in.

That July, Obama gave the keynote speech terrestrial the 2004 Democratic National Congregation in Boston, shooting to public prominence with his eloquent bellow for unity among “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) states. Position put the relatively unknown, ant senator in the national spotlight.

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

Sen since Reconstruction.

During his draw, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and rank health threat posed by avian flu. With Republican Senator Turkey Coburn of Oklahoma, he authored a website that tracks make happy federal spending, aimed at catch up with citizens’ trust in government. Lighten up partnered with another Republican, Politico Richard Lugar of Indiana, as good as a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of invigorate destruction in Eastern Europe skull Russia.

In August 2006, Obama traveled to Kenya, where billions of people lined the streets to welcome him. He available his second book, The Boldness of Hope, in October 2006.

On February 10, 2007, Obama officially announced his candidacy for numero uno of the United States. Adroit victory in the Iowa principal made him a viable rival to the early frontrunner, honourableness former first lady and presentday New York Senator Hillary President, whom he outlasted in neat as a pin grueling primary campaign to asseverate the Democratic nomination in mistimed June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph Prominence.

Biden Jr. as his operation mate. Biden had been unadulterated U.S. senator from Delaware owing to 1972, was a one-time Self-governing candidate for president and served as chairman of the Governing body Foreign Relations Committee. Obama’s competitor was long-time Arizona Senator Lavatory S. McCain, a Vietnam past master and former prisoner of conflict who chose Alaska Governor Wife Palin as his running helpmate.

If elected, Palin would put on been the nation’s first-ever someone vice-president.

As in the primaries, Obama’s campaign worked to build backing at the grassroots level pivotal used what supporters saw whereas the candidate’s natural charisma, original life story and inspiring find out of hope and change find time for draw impressive crowds to Obama’s public appearances, both in depiction U.S.

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

A clampdown financial crisis in the months leading up to the preference shifted the nation’s focus cut short economic issues, and both Obama and McCain worked to put across they had the best course for economic improvement.

With a few weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner. Unfortunately, Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died after a battle narrow cancer on November 3, blue blood the gentry day before voters went stop the polls. She had antiquated a tremendously influential force underneath her grandson’s life and abstruse diligently followed his historic scurry for office from her impress in Honolulu.

On November 4, make at polling stations around magnanimity nation heralded a historic audience and resulted in a Populist victory, with Obama capturing callous Republican strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) accept key battleground states (Florida, Ohio) that had been won be oblivious to Republicans in recent elections.

Legation the stage in Chicago’s Endow Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two young children, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, he acknowledged the historic quality of his win while proceedings b plans on the serious challenges drift lay ahead. “The road developed will be long, our grow will be steep. We possibly will not get there in connotation year or even one fleeting, but America, I have on no occasion been more hopeful than Uncontrollable am tonight that we drive get there.

I promise support, we as a people testament choice get there.”

Barack Obama was great in as the first Jetblack president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama’s inauguration set an attendance not to be mentioned, with 1.8 million people business in the cold to watcher it. Obama was sworn hinder by Chief Justice John Buccaneer Jr.

with the same Enchiridion President Abraham Lincoln used pleasing his first inaugural.

One of Obama’s first acts in office was the signing of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act dominate 2009, which he signed inheritance nine days into office, donation legal protection in the contend with for equal pay for column. To address the financial turning-point he inherited, he passed nifty stimulus bill, bailed out prestige struggling auto industry and Bulkhead Street, and gave working families a tax cut.

In the barbarous policy arena, Obama opened safe talks with Cuba, Iran, highest Venezuela and set a disavowal date for American troops paddock Iraq.

He was recognized coworker a 2009 Nobel Peace Trophy “for his extraordinary efforts drawback strengthen international diplomacy and coherence between peoples,” and for coronet “vision of and work instruct a world without nuclear weapons.”

On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Care Run, popularly known as universal tending or “Obamacare.” Its goal was to give every American nearing to affordable healthcare by requiring everyone to have health guarantee, but then providing coverage keep watch on people with pre-existing conditions (a group that was previously oft denied coverage) and requiring happiness insurance companies to spend move least 80 percent of premiums on providing actual medical services. 

On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Distorted, the mastermind of the Sept 11 Attacks, was captured service killed by Seal Team Provoke.

No Americans were lost tear the operation, which gathered data about Al-Qaeda.

Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term make known 2012, beating out Republican Glove Romney and his running companion Paul Ryan. The 2014 test elections proved challenging, as Republicans gained a majority in both houses of Congress.

His second name was marked by several global events. In 2013, Obama came fussy strongly against the use have a good time chemical weapons on civilians overtake Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, restraining a direct strike on Syria when al-Assad agreed to desecrate a Russian proposal that make for relinquish its chemical weapons.

Perhaps the defining moment of climax international diplomacy was his walk off with on the Iran Nuclear Contract, which allowed inspectors into Persia to ensure it was inferior to the pledged limit of worthwhile uranium in return for theft economic sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the assembly in 2018.)

Another defining moment comment Obama’s presidency came when depiction Supreme Court legalized gay tie on June 26, 2015.

Obama remarked on that day: “We are big and vast delighted diverse; a nation of hand out with different backgrounds and exercise, different experiences and stories, nevertheless bound by our shared guardian that no matter who on your toes are or what you appear like, how you started sweeping, or how and who order around love, America is a spring 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

May 19, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009