Barack Obama

              Early Life

Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Barack Obama's mother,Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham's father, Stanley, enlisted in the service and marched across Europe in Patton's army. Dunham's mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program and, after several moves, landed in Hawaii.

Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. The elder Obama grew up herding goats in Africa, eventually earning a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of college in Hawaii. While studying at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, Obama, Sr. met fellow student, Ann Dunham. They married on February 2, 1961. Barack was born six months later.

Obama's parents separated when he was two years old, later divorcing. Obama, Sr. went on to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies, and then returned to Kenya in 1965. In 1966, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. A year later, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro Ng was born. Several incidents in Indonesia left Dunham afraid for her son's safety and education so, at the age of 10, Barack was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and sister later joined them. 

Elected 44th President of the United States:

On November 4, 2008, 47-year-old Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States, after a hard-fought two-year presidential campaign. He was sworn in as President on January 20, 2009.

On October 9, 2009, the Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Obama (D-IL) was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2004, after serving 7 years as an Illinois state senator.

He's the author of two best-selling books. Obama was named by Time magazine in 2005, 2007 and 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Notable:

On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency. Obama first rose to national prominence when he delivered an inspiring keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

On June 3, 2008, Obama accumulated enough Democratic convention delegates votes to become the presumptive party nominee for the presidential race.

In 2004, Sen. Obama signed a $1.9 million deal to author 3 books. The first, "The Audacity of Hope,", discusses his political convictions. His 1995 autobiography was a bestseller.

The Obama Persona:

Barack Obama is a independent-minded leader with an even-keel temperament, charismatic speaking skills and a knack for consensus-building. He's also a talented, introspective writer.

His values are strongly shaped by his expertise as a Constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney, and by Christianity. While private by nature, Obama mingles easily with others, but is most comfortable addressing large crowds.

Obama is known for being unafraid to speak and hear hard truths when necessary. Although armed with shrewd political sensibilities, he's sometimes slow to recognize viable threats to his agenda.

Major Areas of Interest:

Sen. Obama's areas of special legislative interest have been in support for working families, public education, health care, economic growth and jobs creation, and ending the Iraq War. As an Illinois state senator, he worked passionately for ethics reforms and criminal justice reform.

In 2002, Obama publicly opposed the Bush Administration's push for the Iraq War, but supported war in Afghanistan.

Senate Committees in the 110th Congress:

• Committee on Foreign Relations
• Subcommittee on African Affairs
• Subcommittee on International Economic Policy
• Subcommittee on Asians and Pacific Affairs
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
• Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

Practical, Progressive Thinking on the Issues:

In 2002, Barack Obama publicly opposed the Iraq War, and continues to call for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. He urges universal health care, and if elected president, promises implementation by the end of his first term.

Barack Obama's voting record and stances as US Senator and Illinois State Senator reflect a "practical, common sense progressive" thinker who emphasizes increased support for teachers, college affordability, and restoration of meaningful federal support of veterans. Obama opposes privatization of Social Security.

Prior Experience:

Barack Obama served 7 years as an Illinois State Senator, resigning to assume U.S. Senate responsibilities. He also worked as a community organizer and a civil rights attorney. Obama was also a Senior Lecturer in Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School.

After law school, he aggressively organized one of the largest voter registration drives in Chicago history to help Bill Clinton's 1992 election.

Personal Data:

• Birth - August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii
• Education - B.A. in international relations, 1983, Columbia University. J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the first black Editor of the Harvard Law Review
• Family - Married on October 18, 1992 to Michelle Robinson, a Chicago native, also a Harvard Law School graduate. Two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.
• Faith - Christian, United Church of Christ

Shen the Senate is in session, Obama returns to their Chicago home from D.C. every weekend. Obama is a Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears fan, and an avid basketball player.

Growing Up Barack Obama:

Born Barack Hussein Obama, Jr, son of a Kenya-born Harvard-educated economist and Ann Dunham, a caucasian anthropologist, was 2 years old when his father left them.

His father (deceased in 1982) returned to Kenya, and only saw his son once more. His mother remarried, and moved Barack to Indonesia. He returned to Hawaii at age 10 to live with his maternal grandparents. He graduated from the respected Punahou School with honors. As a teenager, he scooped ice cream at Baskins-Robbins, and has admitted to dabbling in marijuana and cocaine. His mother died of cancer in 1995.

Memorable Quotes:

"You can't have No Child Left Behind if you leave the money behind."

"I do agree that the Democrats have been intellectually lazy in failing to take the core ideals of the Democratic Party and adapting them to circumstances.... It's not just a matter of sticking in a quote from the Bible into a stock speech."

"There has yet to be a serious conversation about health care on the floor of the United States Senate."

"...as parents, we need to find the time and the energy to step in and find ways to help our kids love reading. We can read to them, talk to them about what they're reading and make time for this by turning off the TV ourselves. Libraries can help parents with this. Knowing the constraints we face from busy schedules and a TV culture, we need to think outside the box here - to dream big like we always have in America.

Right now, children come home from their first doctor's appointment with an extra bottle of formula. But imagine if they came home with their first library card or their first copy of Goodnight Moon? What if it was as easy to get a book as it is to rent a DVD or pick up McDonalds? What if instead of a toy in every Happy Meal, there was a book? What if there were portable libraries that rolled through parks and playgrounds like ice cream trucks? Or kiosks in stores where you could borrow books?

What if during the summer, when kids often lose much of the reading progress they've made during the year, every child had a list of books they had to read and talk about and an invitation to a summer reading club at the local library? Libraries have a special role to play in our knowledge economy." -- June 27, 2005 Speech to the American Library Association

Barack Obama's Biographical Timeline 1961 - 2009
1961	Barack Hussein Obama II is born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4 at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Woman and Children.
1963	Ann Dunham and Obama Sr. separate, and divorce in 1964. Ann met Barack as a student at the University of Hawaii.
1967-1971	Obama moves to Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother Ann Dunham and his step-father Lolo Soetoro.
1971	Obama moves back to Hawaii and lives with maternal grandparents. Ann returns to Hawaii  from 1972-1977.
1971-1979	Obama attends Punahou School in Honolulu from the fifth grade to his High School graduation in 1979.
1979-1981	Obama moves to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College. Obama transfers his studies two years later to Columbia in NY.
1981-1983	Obama studies Political Science and International Relations at Columbia University in NY where he received his BA in 1983.
1982	Obama Sr. dies in an auto accident in Kenya. The senior Obama met his son only once after returning to Kenya.
1984-1988	Obama leaves NY for Chicago in 1984, and from 1984-1988 is Director of DCP, a church-based community organization.
1988	Obama travels for first time to Europe and Kenya. Obama meets paternal grandparents and family for the first time.
1988-1991	Obama enters Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA., and becomes the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
1991	Obama returns to Chicago. Obama spent his Harvard summer breaks at several Chicago law firms.
1992	Obama marries Michelle Robinson on October 18th in Chicago. Later, Obama and Michelle travel to Bali to finish his book.
1992-2004	Obama teaches Law at the University of Chicago Law School, and works as counsel and an associate at Chicago law firms.
1995	Obama's mother, Ann Dunham dies of ovarian cancer. Obama Publishes first book "Dreams From My Father."
1996-2004	Obama is elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996. Obama serves three terms in the Illinois Senate as a state legislator.
1998-2001	In 1998 the Obama's have their first child Malia Ann. Three years later, in 2001, they have their second daughter Sasha.
2004	Obama delivers the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July. In November he is elected to Senate.
2005-2008	Obama is the US Senator from Illinois. On November 18, 2008 Obama resigns his Senate seat after his Presidential victory.
2008	Obama defeats Democratic presidential hopefuls and Republican John McCain to become President-elect on November 4th.
2009	On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th US President in Washington, DC.