
Rankings by scholars and historians place him among the upper to mid tier of American presidents. Obama left office on January 20, 2017, and continues to reside in Washington, D.C.ĭuring Obama's terms as president, the United States' reputation abroad, as well as the American economy, significantly improved. Obama nominated three justices to the Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were confirmed as justices, while Merrick Garland was denied hearings or a vote from the Republican-majority Senate. elections, brokered the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2016, initiated sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea and again after interference in the 2016 U.S. In foreign policy, he ordered military interventions in Iraq and Syria in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change, drew down U.S.

He advocated for gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, indicating support for a ban on assault weapons, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning global warming and immigration. Hodges) same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015 after the Court ruled so in Obergefell. His administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional ( United States v. Obama also promoted inclusion for LGBT Americans. During this term, he condemned the 2013 Snowden leaks as unpatriotic, but called for more restrictions on the National Security Agency (NSA) to address privacy issues. He also ordered the counterterrorism raid that killed Osama bin Laden.Īfter winning re-election by defeating Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2013. He ordered military involvement in Libya in order to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1973, contributing to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. In 2011, Obama ordered the drone-strike killing in Yemen of al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki, who was an American citizen. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the United States– Russia New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, he signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act served as economic stimuli amidst the Great Recession. The main reforms include: the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as "the ACA" or "Obamacare", the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. Obama signed many landmark bills into law during his first two years in office. Nine months later, he was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a decision that drew a mixture of praise and criticism. Obama was elected over Republican nominee John McCain in the general election and was inaugurated alongside his running mate Joe Biden, on January 20, 2009.

In 2008, after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, he was nominated by the Democratic Party for president. Obama received national attention in 2004 with his March Senate primary win, his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address, and his landslide November election to the Senate. Turning to elective politics, he represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate from 1997 until 2004, when he ran for the U.S. After graduating, he became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

In 1988, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president of the United States. Barack Hussein Obama II ( / b ə ˈ r ɑː k h uː ˈ s eɪ n oʊ ˈ b ɑː m ə/ ( listen) bə- RAHK hoo- SAYN oh- BAH-mə born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
