Barack Obama (1961)/biography
From Genealogy
| Barack Obama | |
| |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Richard Durbin | |
| Preceded by | Peter Fitzgerald
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|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent
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Member of the Illinois State Senate
from the 13th district | |
| In office 1997 – 2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul
|
| Born | August 4 1961 Honolulu, Hawaii , USA
|
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic
|
| Spouse | Michelle Obama
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| Alma mater | Columbia University,</br> Harvard Law School
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| Religion | Christian (United Church of Christ)
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| Signature | 
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Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.[1]
Born to a black Kenyan father and a white American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He lived for most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and spent four of his pre-teen years in the multi-ethnic Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, launching his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003.
Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. He went on to win election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a landslide 70% of the vote in an election year marked by Republican gains.[2][3] As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the 110th Congress, he has sponsored legislation on lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, and care for returned U.S. military personnel.
He is among the Democratic Party's leading candidates for nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[4] Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.[5][6] He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.[7]
[edit] Early life and career
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Shirley Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas).[8] His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.[9] Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced.[10] His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.[11][12] His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya.[13] The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10.[14] He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979.[15] Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.[16] Obama's ancestors hail from seven countries: Kenya, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Also, his second cousin of his great-great-great-great-great grandfather is Gabriel Duvall.[17] He is also an eighth cousin of Vice President Dick Cheney; both are descendants of Mareen Duvall, a 17th century French immigrant. [18]
In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs.[19] Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind."[20] The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[21] He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."[22]
After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[23][24] He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation[25] before moving to Chicago to take a job as a community organizer.[26] He entered Harvard Law School in 1988.[27] In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the Harvard Law Review's "first black president in its 104-year history."[28] He completed his J.D. degree magna cum laude in 1991.[29] On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive.[29] As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases.[30] He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.[31]
[edit] State legislature
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park.[32] In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.[33] He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.[34][35] As a state legislator, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting successful legislation on ethics and health care reform.[36] He sponsored a law enhancing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for child care.[37] Obama also led the passage of legislation mandating videotaping of homicide interrogations, and a law to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they stopped.[37][38] During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose president credited him with having been "immensely helpful in working with police organizations" on death penalty reform.[39] He was criticized by a rival pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for having voted either "present" or "no" on anti-abortion legislation.[36][40]
[edit] Keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention
Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, while still serving as a state legislator.[42] After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama said:
No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.
Questioning the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War, Obama spoke of an enlisted Marine, Corporal Seamus Ahern from East Moline, Illinois, asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?" He continued:
When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.
Finally, he spoke for national unity:
The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League
The speech was Obama's introduction to most of America. Its enthusiastic reception at the convention and widespread coverage by national media gave him instant celebrity status.[43]
[edit] Senate campaign
In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.[44] However, Hull's popularity declined following allegations of domestic abuse.[44] Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon; the support of Simon's daughter; and political endorsements by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.[45][46] Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.[47] His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.[48] In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.[49] A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.[50] Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.[51] In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%.[3]
[edit] Senate career
Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005.[52] In a move considered exceptional for a first-term incoming senator, he recruited Pete Rouse, a 30-year veteran of the Washington political scene and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, as his chief of staff.[53] Karen Kornbluh, an economist who was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin was hired as Obama's policy adviser.[54] In July 2005, Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author on human rights and genocide, joined Obama's team.[55] He holds assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs,[56] and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[57]
[edit] 109th Congress
Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before the 109th Congress in 2005 and 2006, and cosponsored another 427.[58][59] He took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform. Beginning in 2005, Obama co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).[60] He later added three amendments to S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act," sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA).[61][62] S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives.[63] In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border.[64] President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."[65]
(R-OK) and Obama join President Bush at the signing ceremony for the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act of 2006.[66]Partnering first with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar-Obama" expands the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines.[67][68] The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract.[69][70] In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the "Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act," marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.[71]
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In August 2005, he traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of conventional weapons, biological weapons, and weapons of mass destruction as a first defense against potential terrorist attacks.[72]
Following meetings with U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, Obama visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. At a meeting with Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the legislative election, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."[73] He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya.[74] The speech touched off a public debate among rival leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.[75][76]
[edit] 110th Congress
On the first day of the newly Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, in a column published in the Washington Post, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist."[77] He joined with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in strengthening restrictions on travel in corporate jets to S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority.[78][79] Obama joined Charles Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.[80][81] Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production.[82][83] Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill proposing to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.[84][85]
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored with Kit Bond (R-MO) an amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for a review by the Government Accounting Office following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.[86] He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry,[87] and joined Chuck Hagel (R