|
Barack
Obama
is best known for serving as a Junior
US Senator for Illinois and as the US
Democratic nominee for the 2008 Presidential
Election.
Barack
Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii
to a Kenyan father and American mother
and lived in Honolulu until the age of
six. His father eventually returned to
Kenya and his mother remarried another
man and moved Obama with her to Jakarta
to live with his new Indonesian stepfather.
Obama lived in Jakarta until the age of
ten then moved back to the United States
to finish his grade school in Hawaii while
living with his grandparents.
After
graduating high school, Barack Obama moved
to Los Angeles and studied for two years
at Occidental College. He eventually moved
to New York and studied at Columbia University
for his undergraduate degree in political
science. After graduating in 1983, Obama
worked for two years at Business International
Corporation and New York Public Interest
Research Group. In 1985, Obama moved out
to Chicago to work as a community organizer
to help improve living conditions in areas
around the city. His service position
gave him ideas for change and improvement
and prompted him to study law at Harvard
Law School starting in 1988, the same
year he met his future wife, Michelle
Robinson.
Barack
Obama graduated with a law degree in 1991
and returned to Chicago shortly thereafter
to work as a civil rights lawyer and lecturer
at the University of Chicago. One year
later, Obama and Robinson married.
Obama
ran for public office a few years later
and won a seat in the Illinois Senate
in 1997 where he stayed until 2004. Although
he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives in 2000, he lost and three
years later decided to try for the U.S.
Senate instead.
With
70% of the vote, Barack Obama won a seat
in the 109th Congress in 2004 and was
sworn in to office on January 4, 2005.
He immediately began fighting for weapon
control and improving international relations
and gained bipartisan support for his
efforts in reforming ethics and health
care laws. Although he advocated children's
rights and education, Obama did receive
criticism for his impartial votes on abortion
issues.
Barack
Obama continued his support of veteran
and children's rights while working in
the Senate and began working towards laws
that would benefit veterans, control immigration,
manage healthcare and improve education
across the country. He worked under the
Bush administration to improve international
affairs while fighting for active control
over border immigration. As the power
of Congress shifted to the Democratic
Party, Obama began working with fellow
congressmen to eliminate gifts and contributions
by lobbyists in Washington. He has also
advocated for energy changes in response
to global climate crises, but has received
some criticism for his support of a bill
promoting liquefied coal.
Obama
announced his bid for the 2008 presidency
in February of 2007. He went on to become
the presumptive nominee for the Democratic
Party's bid to become the American president.
In June 2008 Hillary Rodham Clinton conceded
defeat for the Democratic nomination and
gave her support to Barack Obama. It is
expected that Senator Obama and John McCain
of the Republican party will compete to
become the President of the United States
in 2008.
Barack and his wife, Michelle Obama, have
two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
The New Yorker
Magazine Cover Controversy
In July 2008 the New Yorker magazine published
a satirical cartoon on the cover of their
magazine depicting Barack and Michelle
Obama as radical terrorists in the oval
office. Read more about the controversial
New
Yorker cover of Barack Obama.
This Barack Obama biography may
not be reproduced online.
Copyright © Woopidoo.com (ek+)
|
Bookmark