Encyclopedia · Biography
Barack Obama
44th president of the United States
Personal details
- Full name
- Barack Hussein Obama II
- Born
- August 4, 1961 · Honolulu, Hawaii
- Parents
- Barack Obama Sr.; Stanley Ann Dunham
- Stepparent
- Lolo Soetoro
- Education
- Punahou School (1979); Occidental College (attended); Columbia University, B.A. (1983); Harvard Law School, J.D. (1991)
- Religion
- Christian
- Spouse
- Michelle Robinson Obama (m. 1992)
- Children
- Malia and Natasha (“Sasha”)
- Political party
- Democratic
- Public offices
- Illinois Senate (1997–2004); U.S. Senate (2005–2008); U.S. president (2009–2017)
Barack Hussein Obama II (born 1961) is an American Democratic politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
Family and education
Obama was born in Honolulu to Barack Obama Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham. After his mother married Lolo Soetoro he lived as a child in Indonesia, returning to Hawaii for high school at Punahou. He attended Occidental College and earned a political science degree at Columbia University in 1983. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991 and was president of the Harvard Law Review.
Employment and Illinois politics
Obama worked in New York before moving to Chicago in 1985 for community organizing with the Developing Communities Project. He practiced law, taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, directed Illinois voter-registration efforts and served in the Illinois Senate before election to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He and Michelle Robinson married in 1992 and have two daughters.
Presidency
Obama won the 2008 election and entered office in January 2009 during the financial crisis, succeeding George W. Bush. His presidency included the Affordable Care Act, the 2009 economic stimulus, changes in financial regulation and diplomatic initiatives. Chapter 3 mentions his election as the transition point leading into the Tea Party era, not as evidence of a personal link to the earlier conservative institutions.
References
Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.