Barack Obama 44 th president of the United States Terms served:1 By Mrs. Middleton, 4 th grade

 Barack Hussein Obama Jr. was born on August 4 th, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.  At the age of 47 he was elected as the 44 th president of the United States on November 4 th 2008 and sworn into office on January 20 th,  He is a Democrat.  When Obama took office he made history.  He became the first African-American president of the United States.

Family  Barack Obama’s father was named Barack Obama Sr. and was born in Kenya.  His mother was Stanley Ann Dunham and was born in Kansas.  His parents divorced in 1964 and his mother remarried Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia in  Barack lived in Jakarta, Indonesia with his mom, step-father and half-sister Maya until he was ten and then moved back to Hawaii alone to be raised by his grandparents. His mother wanted a better education for her son.  He had 8 siblings: Maya and seven half-brothers named Abongo, Auma, Mark, David, Abo, Bernard and George.  Barack had a happy childhood and loved the beach, surfing and playing basketball. Education  Graduated high school with honors in 1979 in Hawaii.  Moved to Los Angeles, California and attended Occidental College from  He transferred to Columbia University in New York City and graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science.  In 1988 Obama went o Harvard Law School and graduated with honors in 1991.

 Barack Obama married Michelle Robinson on October 3,  They have 2 children, Malia who is 12 and Natasha who is 9.  They also adopted an adorable Portuguese Water Dog that they named Bo.

 On June 7, 2008, Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton and became the first African American to become a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.  Obama requested Joe Biden to run for vice-president.  They ran against Republican opponents John McCain and Sarah Palin.  In November of 2008, Obama defeated McCain receiving 53% of the vote becoming the 44 th president of the United States.

 Obama passed a health care bill that will provide health care to all Americans. Some Americans can not afford paying for health insurance because it costs too much money so they have to go without coverage. By passing this new bill all Americans will be able to have health coverage and have a better chance of staying healthy.  Obama passed a $787 billion stimulus bill to help restore America’s failing economy. The bill is suppose to save or create over 3.5 million jobs in America. The president is hopeful this new bill will boost the economy and revive America.  Obama continues to work towards achieving world peace. As president he respects other nations beliefs and works hard to communicate peaceful ways to live.  Obama is still in office so I am sure there is much more to come…

 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate on January 3, He is the fifth African-American senator in US history.  Obama was the first African-American president.  Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in  Although Obama has many impressive achievements he believes his family is his greatest accomplishment.  Obama has written two best- selling books, Dreams from My father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995) and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006).  Obama received the 2006 Grammy Award for the Spoken Word Album in 2006 & He won for the audio recording of Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope.  Wrote a children’s picture book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters (2010).

1. Growing up he was called Barry because he didn’t want to be treated differently. He felt his name Barack was unusual. 2. His first name Barack comes from the Swahili word Baraka, which means “blessing”. 3. When Barack lived in Indonesia his home had no electricity or paved roads. There were chickens, brightly colored birds and baby crocodiles living in his backyard! 4. He only met his father once when he was 10 before his dad died in a car accident in Kenya in 1982.

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