Monday 14 November 2011

Barack Obama


Barack Hussein Obama II (Listeni/bəˈrɑːk hˈsn ˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44thand current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.
Born in HonoluluHawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at theDemocratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaignin the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act in 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, theDon't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act and the Budget Control Act of 2011. In foreign policy, hegradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq and announced that all troops would be home by the end of 2011, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered enforcement of the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone over Libya, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. In April 2011, Obama declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election.[4]

Barack Obama
A portrait shot of Barack Obama, looking straight ahead. He has short black hair, and is wearing a dark navy blazer with a blue striped tie over a light blue collared shirt. In the background are two flags hanging from separate flagpoles: the American flag, and the flag of the Executive Office of the President.
44th President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2009
Vice PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byGeorge W. Bush
United States Senator
from Illinois
In office
January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
Preceded byPeter Fitzgerald
Succeeded byRoland Burris
Illinois State Senator
from the 13th District
In office
January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded byAlice Palmer
Succeeded byKwame Raoul
Personal details
BornBarack Hussein Obama II
August 4, 1961 (age 50)[1]
HonoluluHawaii, U.S.[2]
Political partyDemocratic Party
Spouse(s)Michelle Obama (1992–present)
ChildrenMalia (b.1998)
Sasha (b.2001)
ResidenceWhite House (Official)
ChicagoIllinois (Private)
Alma materOccidental College
Columbia University (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
ProfessionCommunity organizer
Lawyer
Constitutional law professor
Author
ReligionChristianity[3]
SignatureBarack Obama
WebsiteThe White House
Barack Obama
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Barack Obama

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