Barack Obama
Former President of the United States · President of the United States · Senator · Lawyer · Author
b. 1961 · Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States · 3 min read
- Last verified: 12 November 2026
- Sources: 4
- Reviewed by Muse — Phase D second review (independent check)
44th president of the United States (2009-2017) and the first African American to hold the office; Nobel Peace laureate in 2009 and author of the Affordable Care Act.
Early Life
Barack Hussein Obama II was born on 4 August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Ann Dunham, an American anthropologist from Kansas, and Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan economist. From 1967 to 1971 he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, with his mother and stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, then returned to Hawaii, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents and graduated from Punahou School in 1979.
Education
Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1981, then transferred to Columbia University in New York, earning a BA in political science in 1983. After working as a community organiser in Chicago, he entered Harvard Law School in 1988, became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990, and graduated magna cum laude with a JD in 1991.
Career
Obama worked as a community organiser in Chicago from 1985 to 1988, then practised as a civil-rights lawyer and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. His keynote address at the Democratic National Convention on 27 July 2004 brought him national attention, and he was elected to the US Senate later that year, serving from 2005 to 2008. He was elected president on 4 November 2008 and inaugurated on 20 January 2009 as the 44th president and the first African American to hold the office. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on 23 March 2010, authorised the operation that killed Osama bin Laden on 2 May 2011, and was re-elected on 6 November 2012. His second term included the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015 and the normalisation of relations with Cuba. He left office on 20 January 2017 and has since worked through the Obama Foundation and as an author.
Achievements
Obama's central achievements were the recovery of the US economy from the Great Recession, the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which extended health insurance to millions of Americans, and the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. His presidency also saw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, the normalisation of US-Cuba relations, and the legalisation of same-sex marriage nationwide by the Supreme Court in 2015. His memoir A Promised Land (2020) is the first volume of his presidential memoirs.
Legacy
Obama is remembered as the first African American president of the United States and as a president who combined oratory with a pragmatic, deliberative style. His legacy is debated along partisan lines: supporters credit the Affordable Care Act, the economic recovery and the restoration of US standing abroad, while critics point to the slow recovery, the growth of political polarisation during his presidency, and the use of drone strikes and deportations. The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded nine months into his presidency, drew both praise and criticism, including from Obama himself, who said in his acceptance speech that he did not feel he deserved to be in the company of past laureates. Because he is a living person whose public work continues, this profile records only documented milestones and will need regular updating from reliable sources.
Major Achievements
- Became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990
- Served in the Illinois Senate, 1997-2004, and the US Senate, 2005-2008
- Delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention on 27 July 2004
- Elected 44th president of the United States on 4 November 2008, the first African American to hold the office
- Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples
- Signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on 23 March 2010
- Authorised the operation that killed Osama bin Laden on 2 May 2011
- Re-elected president on 6 November 2012
- Oversaw US participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015
- Published the memoir A Promised Land in 2020
Contributions
Obama's contribution was to show that the American presidency could be held by someone outside the country's traditional political elite, and to govern through a period of economic crisis with an emphasis on diplomacy, multilateral agreements and incremental reform. The Affordable Care Act was the most significant expansion of the American social safety net in decades. His presidency also marked a shift in American foreign policy toward diplomacy with Iran and Cuba and toward international climate agreements.
Notable Works
- Dreams from My Father (1995)
- The Audacity of Hope (2006)
- A Promised Land (2020)
- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
Milestones
- 1961 — Born on 4 August in Honolulu, Hawaii Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 1983 — Earned a BA in political science from Columbia University Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 1991 — Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, having been the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 1997 — Elected to the Illinois Senate, serving until 2004 Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2004 — Delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention; elected to the US Senate Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2008 — Elected 44th president of the United States on 4 November Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2009 — Inaugurated on 20 January; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; NobelPrize.org
- 2010 — Signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on 23 March Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2011 — Authorised the operation that killed Osama bin Laden on 2 May Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2012 — Re-elected president on 6 November Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2015 — United States joined the Paris Agreement on climate change Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2017 — Left office on 20 January after two terms Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2020 — Published the memoir A Promised Land Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Timeline
- 4 August 1961
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 1983
Earned a BA in political science from Columbia University
Year only — exact date unknown Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 1991
Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School
Year only — exact date unknown Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 1997
Elected to the Illinois Senate
Year only — exact date unknown Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 27 July 2004
Delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 4 November 2008
Elected 44th president of the United States
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 20 January 2009
Inaugurated as president
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 9 October 2009
Announced as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Source: NobelPrize.org; Encyclopaedia Britannica - 23 March 2010
Signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 2 May 2011
Authorised the operation that killed Osama bin Laden
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 6 November 2012
Re-elected president
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 2015
United States joined the Paris Agreement on climate change
Year only — exact date unknown Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica - 20 January 2017
Left office after two terms as president
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
In Their Words
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Source: Barack Obama, speech to supporters, Chicago, 5 February 2008 (American Presidency Project) — Closing words of his speech on the night of the Super Tuesday primaries. The line echoes June Jordan's 1978 'Poem for South African Women'.
Related Personalities
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Barack Obama?
Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017 and was the first African American to hold the office. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 and signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010.
Source: Encyclopaedia BritannicaWhat did Obama achieve as president?
Obama oversaw the recovery of the US economy from the Great Recession, signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, authorised the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, and led the United States into the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; NobelPrize.orgWhy did Obama win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The award, announced on 9 October 2009, nine months into his presidency, drew both praise and criticism, including from Obama himself, who said he did not feel he deserved to be in the company of past laureates.
Source: NobelPrize.org; Encyclopaedia BritannicaWhat is the Affordable Care Act?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed by Obama on 23 March 2010, is the US health-care reform law that expanded health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, barred insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, and allowed young adults to stay on their parents' plans until age 26. It is commonly known as Obamacare.
Source: Encyclopaedia BritannicaWhat has Obama done since leaving office?
Since leaving office on 20 January 2017, Obama has worked through the Obama Foundation, which is building the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, and as an author. He published the memoir A Promised Land in 2020, the first volume of his presidential memoirs.
Source: Encyclopaedia BritannicaSources & References
- Barack Obama — Encyclopaedia Britannica — Encyclopaedia Britannica (accessed 12 November 2026)
- Barack Obama — Wikipedia (cross-check) — Wikipedia (accessed 12 November 2026)
- Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize — NobelPrize.org — NobelPrize.org (accessed 12 November 2026)
- File:Official portrait of Barack Obama.jpg — Wikimedia Commons (portrait file page) — Wikimedia Commons (accessed 12 November 2026)
