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Barack Obama

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1. Office: 44th President of the United States
2. Term: January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
3. Party: Democratic Party
4. Preceded by: United States Senator from Illinois (2005–2008)
5. Education: B.A., Columbia University (1983); J.D., Harvard Law School (1991)
6. Running mates: Joe Biden (2008, 2012)
7. Awards: Nobel Peace Prize (2009)
8. Presidential library: Obama Presidential Library, administered by NARA
9. Early life and education
10. According to Miller Center, University of Virginia, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. According to the Miller Center, his parents consisted of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. He grew up in Hawaii before attending college.
11. Obama earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1983. Before entering Harvard Law School in 1988, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. He received his J.D. from Harvard in 1991. Obama became the first Black person to lead the Harvard Law Review.
12. Academic and legal career
13. Between 1992 and 2004, Obama was a lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
14. Illinois politics
15. In 1996, voters elected Obama to the Illinois Senate's 13th district, where he held a state senate seat from 1997 through 2004. In 2000, he was defeated by incumbent Bobby Rush in a U.S. House contest for Illinois's 1st congressional district.
16. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.
17. C-SPAN: Barack Obama Speech at 2004 DNC Convention The opening of the C-SPAN recording of Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
18. United States Senator
19. Obama won a record majority when elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 2004. Obama represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2008.
20. 2008 presidential campaign
21. In February 2007, Obama declared his intention to seek the presidency. Following a primary contest with Hillary Clinton, he secured the Democratic nomination in 2008. He chose Joe Biden to join his ticket.
22. On March 18, 2008, Obama delivered a speech titled 'A More Perfect Union' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
23. Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union' (Full Speech) The opening of the recording of Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' speech posted to his YouTube channel.
24. Obama defeated Republican nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential election.
25. Presidency
26. Obama held the 44th U.S. presidency from 2009 to 2017, the office number recorded by the Miller Center. His inauguration occurred on January 20, 2009, and his term concluded on January 20, 2017.
27. He became the first African American to occupy the U.S. presidency. Obama belongs to the Democratic Party.
28. Domestic policy
29. To address the Great Recession, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. While serving as president, he signed the Affordable Care Act into law. He additionally signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law.
30. Obama became the first incumbent U.S. president to openly endorse same-sex marriage. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he supported gun control legislation.
31. Foreign policy and military actions
32. During his presidency, Obama supervised the conclusion of the Iraq War and initiated a plan to remove occupying U.S. forces from Iraq. Following the 2011 U.S. departure and ISIL's subsequent gains, he later directed U.S. military action in Iraq. According to Wikipedia contributors, he directed the 2011 intervention in Libya to carry out United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
33. According to Wikipedia contributors, Obama directed Operation Neptune Spear, resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden. He endorsed the Paris Agreement on climate change and issued an executive order restricting carbon emissions. He negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear agreement with Iran. He established normalized relations with Cuba while in office.
34. According to Wikipedia contributors, Obama imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent interference with the 2016 U.S. elections.
35. Judicial appointments
36. Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court; Sotomayor was the first Hispanic American to serve on the court. In 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court.
37. Re-election and post-presidency
38. In the 2012 presidential election, Obama defeated the Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan. Following his departure from office, he stayed engaged in politics and backed Biden's winning 2020 bid for the presidency.
39. Nobel Peace Prize
40. Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his international diplomatic efforts. By the Nobel Foundation's account, he had been in office for less than eight months when the prize was awarded.
41. The Nobel Committee highlighted Obama's exceptional work in bolstering diplomacy and relations among nations, while stressing his goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. According to the Wikipedia article, the choice to give Obama the 2009 Peace Prize was met with both approval and criticism.
42. Books and writings
43. According to Wikipedia contributors, Obama has written three books: Dreams from My Father (1995), The Audacity of Hope (2006), and A Promised Land (2020).
44. Archives and online presence
45. The National Archives and Records Administration oversees the Obama Presidential Library.
46. Historical assessments
47. According to Wikipedia, historians and political scientists place Obama near the top in retrospective assessments of U.S. presidents.
48. 1983: Obama graduated from Columbia University with a B.A.
49. 1988: Obama enrolled at Harvard Law School.
50. 1991: Obama completed his J.D. at Harvard; he had become the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review.
51. 1992-10-03: Obama married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson.
52. 1992-2004: Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
53. 1996: Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate for the 13th district.
54. 1997-2004: Obama served as an Illinois state senator.
55. 2000: Obama lost a U.S. House race in Illinois's 1st congressional district to incumbent Bobby Rush.
56. 2004: Obama won election to the U.S. Senate from Illinois with a record majority.
57. 2004-07-27: According to C-SPAN, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
58. 2008-03-18: Obama delivered the 'A More Perfect Union' speech in Philadelphia.
59. 2009-01-20: Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.
60. 2009: Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; by the Nobel Foundation's account, he had been in office for less than eight months.
61. 2012: Obama defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan to win re-election.
62. 2017-01-20: Obama's presidency ended.

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