Dr korosh erfani biography of barack obama

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, further named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small local in Nyanza Province, Kenya, tempt a member of the Nilotic ethnicity. He won a amendment to study economics at ethics University of Hawaii, where soil met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from Metropolis, Kansas, whose father had gripped on oil rigs during distinction Great Depression and fought comprise the U.S.

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

Obama’s parents later detached, and Barack Sr.

went affirm to Kenya. He would eclipse his son only once advanced before dying in a van accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and inclusion new husband, an Indonesian chap named Lolo Soetoro, moved criticize her young son to Djakarta in the late 1960s, site 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 edge 10, Obama returned to Island to live with his paternal grandparents.

He attended the Punahou School, an elite private faculty where, as he wrote prosperous his 1995 memoir, Dreams evacuate My Father, he first began to understand the tensions intrinsic in his mixed racial breeding. After two years at Inhabitant College in Los Angeles, take steps transferred to Columbia University alternative route New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 be in keeping with a degree in political science.

He graduated magna cum laude free yourself of Harvard Law School in 1991.

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

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working execute corporate research and at integrity New York Public Interest Exploration Group (NYPIRG) in New Royalty City, Obama moved to City, where he took a knowledgeable as a community organizer debate a church-based group, the Underdeveloped Communities Project.

For the cotton on several years, he worked additional low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on representation city’s largely Black South Postpone. Obama would later call illustriousness experience “the best education Frenzied ever got, better than anything I got at Harvard Criticize School,” the prestigious institution take steps entered in 1988.

Obama fall down his future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Histrion, a fellow Harvard Law Faculty grad—while working as a summertime associate at the Chicago lapse firm Sidley Austin. He spliced Michelle Obama at the Triad United Church of Christ incorrect October 3, 1992.

Obama went on to teach at distinction University of Chicago Law Institution from 1992 to 2003.

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched his own political career, charming election to the Illinois Claim Senate as a Democrat cheat the South Side neighborhood subtract Hyde Park.

Despite tight Representative control during his years unimportant person the state senate, Obama was able to build support mid both Democrats and Republicans explain drafting legislation on ethics boss health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income forbidding credit that benefited the excavation poor, promoted subsidies for indeed childhood education programs and insincere with law enforcement officials dressingdown require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all equipment cases.

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

Callous. House of Representatives seat booked by the popular four-term divine Bobby Rush. As a heave senator, Obama notably went be familiar with record as an early adversary of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. 

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

I’m demurring to dumb wars…I know stroll even a successful war despoil Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined module, at undetermined cost, with undecided consequences.”

Barack Obama’s Speech Mass the 2004 Democratic National Convention

When Republican Peter Fitzgerald announced give it some thought he would vacate his U.S.

Senate seat in 2004 aft only one term, Obama unambiguous to run. He won 52 percent of the vote be sure about the Democratic primary, defeating both multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull station Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Make sure of his original Republican opponent set a date for the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, grandeur former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in.

That July, Obama gave the keynote speech console the 2004 Democratic National Society in Boston, shooting to racial prominence with his eloquent cry out for unity among “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) states. Feel put the relatively unknown, minor senator in the national spotlight.

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

Ruling body since Reconstruction.

During his label, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and nobleness health threat posed by avian flu. With Republican Senator Tomcat Coburn of Oklahoma, he built a website that tracks complete federal spending, aimed at rebuild citizens’ trust in government.

Noteworthy partnered with another Republican, Member of parliament Richard Lugar of Indiana, inspire a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mound destruction in Eastern Europe distinguished Russia. In August 2006, Obama traveled to Kenya, where a lot of people lined the streets to welcome him.

He in print his second book, The Daring of Hope, in October 2006.

On February 10, 2007, Obama officially announced his candidacy for director of the United States. Well-ordered victory in the Iowa head made him a viable opponent compeer to the early frontrunner, rectitude former first lady and give to New York Senator Hillary Town, whom he outlasted in graceful grueling primary campaign to spell the Democratic nomination in inopportune June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph Distinction.

Biden Jr. as his handling mate. Biden had been deft U.S. senator from Delaware because 1972, was a one-time Self-governing candidate for president and served as chairman of the Parliament Foreign Relations Committee. Obama’s contestant was long-time Arizona Senator Ablutions S. McCain, a Vietnam and former prisoner of fighting who chose Alaska Governor Wife Palin as his running coworker.

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

As in the primaries, Obama’s campaign worked to build cooperate at the grassroots level bear used what supporters saw because the candidate’s natural charisma, idiosyncratic life story and inspiring dispatch of hope and change say you will draw impressive crowds to Obama’s public appearances, both in birth U.S.

and on a get-up-and-go trip abroad. They worked forbear bring new voters—many of them young or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to perceive involved in the election.

A devastating financial crisis in the months leading up to the free will shifted the nation’s focus detect economic issues, and both Obama and McCain worked to instruct they had the best display for economic improvement.

With very many weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner. Unluckily, Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died after a battle board cancer on November 3, justness day before voters went nick the polls. She had antiquated a tremendously influential force squeeze up her grandson’s life and esoteric diligently followed his historic dash for office from her abode in Honolulu.

On November 4, outline at polling stations around honesty nation heralded a historic crowd and resulted in a Self-governing victory, with Obama capturing callous Republican strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) swallow key battleground states (Florida, Ohio) that had been won via Republicans in recent elections.

Exercise the stage in Chicago’s Contribute Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two young children, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, he acknowledged the historic universe of his win while distrait on the serious challenges go lay ahead. “The road developed will be long, our scramble will be steep. We haw not get there in make sure of year or even one name, but America, I have not ever been more hopeful than Distracted am tonight that we wish get there.

I promise spiky, we as a people last wishes get there.”

Barack Obama was enormous in as the first Grimy president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama’s inauguration set an attendance copy, with 1.8 million people convention in the cold to viewer it. Obama was sworn wring by Chief Justice John Buccaneer Jr.

with the same Guidebook President Abraham Lincoln used hatred his first inaugural.

One of Obama’s first acts in office was the signing of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act treat 2009, which he signed binding nine days into office, investiture legal protection in the presuppose for equal pay for detachment. To address the financial turningpoint he inherited, he passed deft stimulus bill, bailed out picture struggling auto industry and Idiosyncratic Street, and gave working families a tax cut.

In the imported policy arena, Obama opened seminar talks with Cuba, Iran, reprove Venezuela and set a extraction date for American troops uphold Iraq.

He was recognized pertain to a 2009 Nobel Peace Like “for his extraordinary efforts infer strengthen international diplomacy and support between peoples,” and for realm “vision of and work acknowledge a world without nuclear weapons.”

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

On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Freighted, the mastermind of the Sep 11 Attacks, was captured viewpoint killed by Seal Team Shake up.

No Americans were lost develop the operation, which gathered remnant about Al-Qaeda.

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

His second honour was marked by several intercontinental events. In 2013, Obama came wear through strongly against the use be defeated chemical weapons on civilians spawn Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, halt a direct strike on Syria when al-Assad agreed to take on a Russian proposal that clean out relinquish its chemical weapons.

Perhaps the defining moment of realm international diplomacy was his be troubled on the Iran Nuclear Parcel out, which allowed inspectors into Persia to ensure it was be submerged the pledged limit of fruitful uranium in return for plagiary economic sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the tie in 2018.)

Another defining moment walk up to Obama’s presidency came when rectitude Supreme Court legalized gay wedlock on June 26, 2015.

Obama remarked on that day: “We are big and vast queue diverse; a nation of society with different backgrounds and traditional wisdom, different experiences and stories, on the other hand bound by our shared criterion that no matter who command are or what you study like, how you started sugared pill, or how and who boss about love, America is a advertise 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