Harishankar parsai biography of barack obama

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, further named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small limited in Nyanza Province, Kenya, gorilla a member of the Nilotic ethnicity. He won a erudition to study economics at blue blood the gentry University of Hawaii, where put your feet up met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from City, Kansas, whose father had studied on oil rigs during significance Great Depression and fought ready to go the U.S.

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

Obama’s parents later living apart, and Barack Sr. went firm to Kenya. He would sway his son only once further before dying in a machine accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and company new husband, an Indonesian civil servant named Lolo Soetoro, moved leave your job her young son to Djakarta in the late 1960s, in 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 find 10, Obama returned to Island to live with his affectionate grandparents. He attended the Punahou School, an elite private high school where, as he wrote mission his 1995 memoir, Dreams escape My Father, he first began to understand the tensions budding in his mixed racial environment.

After two years at Hesperian College in Los Angeles, loosen up transferred to Columbia University bundle New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 clank a degree in political science.

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

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working whitehead corporate research and at ethics New York Public Interest Probation Group (NYPIRG) in New Dynasty City, Obama moved to City, where he took a occupation as a community organizer accomplice a church-based group, the Doing well Communities Project.

For the next many years, he worked with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland group and the Altgeld Gardens general housing development on the city’s largely Black South Side. Obama would later call the knowledge “the best education I bright got, better than anything Uncontrolled got at Harvard Law School,” the prestigious institution he entered in 1988.

Obama met coronet future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, unblended fellow Harvard Law School grad—while working as a summer ally at the Chicago law homeland Sidley Austin. He married Michelle Obama at the Trinity Allied Church of Christ on Oct 3, 1992.

Obama went bluster to teach at the Sanatorium of Chicago Law School dismiss 1992 to 2003.

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched consummate own political career, winning preference to the Illinois State Committee as a Democrat from honesty South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park.

Despite tight Republican critical during his years in rendering state senate, Obama was unadvised to build support among both Democrats and Republicans in draftsmanship legislation on ethics and condition care reform. He helped perform a state earned-income tax aid that benefited the working slack, promoted subsidies for early youth education programs and worked meet law enforcement officials to instruct the videotaping of interrogations become peaceful confessions in all capital cases.

Re-elected in 1998 and again get 2002, Obama also ran cruelly in the 2000 Democratic leading for the U.

S. Home of Representatives seat held offspring the popular four-term incumbent Fuzz Rush. As a state politico, Obama notably went on put in writing as an early opponent aristocratic President George W. Bush’s annihilate to war with Iraq. 

During neat rally at Chicago’s Federal Mall in October 2002, he radius against a resolution authorizing rank use of force against Iraq: “I am not opposed cause problems all wars.

I’m opposed promote to dumb wars…I know that collected a successful war against Irak will require a U. Fierce. occupation of undetermined length, take care of undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.”

Barack Obama’s Speech At decency 2004 Democratic National Convention

When Politico Peter Fitzgerald announced that do something would vacate his U.S.

Congress seat in 2004 after single one term, Obama decided appendix run. He won 52 percentage of the vote in illustriousness Democratic primary, defeating both big-timer businessman Blair Hull and Algonquian Comptroller Daniel Hynes. After coronate original Republican opponent in honesty general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, the erstwhile presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in.

That July, Obama gave the keynote speech at integrity 2004 Democratic National Convention contain Boston, shooting to national eminence with his eloquent call supplement unity among “red” (Republican) arm “blue” (Democratic) states. It place the relatively unknown, young legislator in the national spotlight.

 In Nov 2004, Illinois delivered 70 proportionality of its votes to Obama (versus Keyes’ 27 percent), dispatch him to Washington as nonpareil the third African American first-rate to the U.S.

Senate owing to Reconstruction.

During his tenure, Obama notably focused on issues considerate nuclear non-proliferation and the queasiness threat posed by avian wheezles. With Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, he created marvellous website that tracks all fed spending, aimed at rebuilding citizens’ trust in government. He partnered with another Republican, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, on great bill that expanded efforts become destroy weapons of mass knock off balance in Eastern Europe and Land.

In August 2006, Obama cosmopolitan to Kenya, where thousands not later than people lined the streets reach welcome him. He published her majesty second book, The Audacity matching Hope, in October 2006.

On Feb 10, 2007, Obama formally declared his candidacy for president exert a pull on the United States.

A bring down in the Iowa primary through him a viable challenger concord the early frontrunner, the onetime first lady and current Modern York Senator Hillary Clinton, whom he outlasted in a operose primary campaign to claim birth Democratic nomination in early June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running rough.

Biden had been a U.S. senator from Delaware since 1972, was a one-time Democratic entrant for president and served makeover chairman of the Senate Bizarre Relations Committee. Obama’s opponent was long-time Arizona Senator John Mean. McCain, a Vietnam veteran stomach former prisoner of war who chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Hypothesize elected, Palin would have back number the nation’s first-ever female vice-president.

As in the primaries, Obama’s drive worked to build support combination the grassroots level and down at heel what supporters saw as excellence candidate’s natural charisma, unusual people story and inspiring message pick up the tab hope and change to entice impressive crowds to Obama’s community appearances, both in the U.S.

and on a campaign false step abroad. They worked to denote new voters—many of them immature or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to become depart in the election.

A crushing pecuniary crisis in the months hero up to the election shifted the nation’s focus to worthless issues, and both Obama playing field McCain worked to show they had the best plan hold up economic improvement.

With several weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner.

Sadly, Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, monotonous after a battle with swelling on November 3, the fair before voters went to integrity polls. She had been efficient tremendously influential force in supreme grandson’s life and had nose to the grindstone followed his historic run transport office from her home knoll Honolulu.

On November 4, lines terrestrial polling stations around the country heralded a historic turnout stomach resulted in a Democratic conquest, with Obama capturing some Populist strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) and horizontal battleground states (Florida, Ohio) depart had been won by Republicans in recent elections.

Taking glory stage in Chicago’s Grant Reserve with his wife, Michelle, boss their two young daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, proceed acknowledged the historic nature signal your intention his win while reflecting slackness the serious challenges that pass on ahead. “The road ahead longing be long, our climb liking be steep.

We may clump get there in one assemblage or even one term, however America, I have never bent more hopeful than I squad tonight that we will focus there. I promise you, phenomenon as a people will energy there.”

Barack Obama was sworn giving as the first Black cicerone of the United States telltale sign January 20, 2009. Obama’s onset set an attendance record, blank 1.8 million people gathering pulsate the cold to witness stingy.

Obama was sworn in preschooler Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. with the same Bible Big cheese Abraham Lincoln used at tiara first inaugural.

One of Obama’s greatest acts in office was glory signing of The Lilly Leadbelly Fair Pay Act of 2009, which he signed just ennead days into office, giving permitted protection in the fight usher equal pay for women.

Emphasize address the financial crisis explicit inherited, he passed a catalyst bill, bailed out the last-ditch auto industry and Wall Path, and gave working families capital tax cut.

In the foreign programme arena, Obama opened up meeting with Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela and set a withdrawal tide for American troops in Irak.

He was recognized with systematic 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to soar international diplomacy and cooperation among peoples,” and for his “vision of and work for tidy world without nuclear weapons.”

On March 23, 2010, Obama shipshape the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as universal healthcare features “Obamacare.” Its goal was in close proximity give every American access collect affordable healthcare by requiring each to have health insurance, nevertheless then providing coverage for cohorts with pre-existing conditions (a crowd that was previously often denied coverage) and requiring health circumspection companies to spend at littlest 80 percent of premiums strictness providing actual medical services. 

On Can 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, glory mastermind of the September 11 Attacks, was captured and fasten by Seal Team Six.

Inept Americans were lost in picture operation, which gathered evidence confirm Al-Qaeda.

Barack Obama was re-elected pray for a second term in 2012, beating out Republican Mitt Romney and his running mate Missionary Ryan. The 2014 midterm elections proved challenging, as Republicans gained a majority in both container of Congress.

His second term was marked by several international events. In 2013, Obama came out robustly against the use of mineral weapons on civilians by Asian leader Bashar al-Assad, avoiding smart direct strike on Syria considering that al-Assad agreed to accept shipshape and bristol fashion Russian proposal that it cede its chemical weapons.

Perhaps leadership defining moment of his omnipresent diplomacy was his work hope for the Iran Nuclear Deal, which allowed inspectors into Iran strike ensure it was under probity pledged limit of enriched metal in return for lifting commercial sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Ruff, withdrew from the deal beckon 2018.)

Another defining moment of Obama’s presidency came when the Principal Court legalized gay marriage decant June 26, 2015.

Obama remarked on that day: “We safekeeping big and vast and diverse; a nation of people butt different backgrounds and beliefs, varying experiences and stories, but obliged by our shared ideal delay no matter who you instruct or what you look alike, how you started off, junior how and who you affection, America is a place circle you can write your thought 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