Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was born on August 4th, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Hussein Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and eventually they divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, and then returned to Kenya where he died in an automobile accident. His mother married Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia, and moved to Soetoro’s home country in 1967. Obama attended schools in Jakarta. Upon graduating, Obama returned to Honolulu with his maternal grandparents, and attended the Punahou School. He graduated with honors in 1979.

In 1983 Obama received his B.A. in political science from Columbia University in New York City. He worked in New York for a Public Research Group and then moved to Chicago where he worked with low-income residents. In 1988 he entered Harvard Law School. In 1990, he was elected the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law review.

He married Michelle Obama in 1992 and they had two daughters Malia and Shasha.
In 1995 Obama published his first best selling book: “Dreams from My Father” , and won a Grammy for the audio version of the book. The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He also mentioned that he used alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years. Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996. During these years, Obama worked with Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics.

In November 2004 general election, Obama became the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.