Memoir · 1995
Dreams from My Father
A story of race and inheritance, tracing his search for identity from Hawaii to Kenya.
Learn more →44th President of the United States · 2009–2017
Yes, We Can. Yes, We Did.
Barack Obama went from community organizer on Chicago's South Side to the first Black president of the United States. He led the country out of the Great Recession, expanded health coverage to millions of Americans, and called on all of us to believe in our own ability to bring about change.
✔ Elected 2008 & 2012
🏛 Two full terms in office
★ 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
The Legacy
America Chose Obama — Twice
In 2008 and again in 2012, voters elected Barack Obama with a majority of the popular vote, building a coalition of first-time voters, young people and communities across the country.
Two-Term President
Obama White House Archive ↗
Barack Obama (D)
The first president since Dwight Eisenhower to win at least 51% of the popular vote in two elections.
365
Electoral votes won in 2008
332
Electoral votes won in 2012
20M+
Americans who gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act
75 mos
Straight months of private-sector job growth by January 2017
About
Meet Barack Obama
A son of Hawaii and Kansas, a Chicago community organizer, a constitutional law professor, and a president who never stopped believing in the American people.
Born in Honolulu in 1961 to a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya, Barack spent part of his childhood in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii, where he was raised largely by his mother and grandparents. He graduated from Columbia University and moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer with churches on the South Side.
At Harvard Law School he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review. Back in Chicago, he led a voter registration drive, practiced civil rights law and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He served eight years in the Illinois State Senate and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, the same year his keynote at the Democratic National Convention introduced him to the nation.
In 2008 he was elected the 44th President of the United States. He and Michelle Obama, married since 1992, are the parents of two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.”— Barack Obama, Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008
🤝
Community Organizer
Helped South Side neighborhoods hit by steel-plant closures.
⚖️
Constitutional Scholar
Taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for 12 years.
🏛️
Legislator
Eight years in Springfield, then the U.S. Senate for Illinois.
🌺
Island Roots
Raised in Honolulu, where he graduated from Punahou School.
Accomplishments
What President Obama Delivered
Eight years of progress for working families, at home and around the world.
🩺
The Affordable Care Act
Protected people with pre-existing conditions, let young adults stay on a parent's plan to 26, and drove the uninsured rate to a record low.
📈
Economic Recovery
The Recovery Act and the auto industry rescue helped pull the economy out of the Great Recession; unemployment fell from 10% to 4.7%.
🏦
Wall Street Reform
The Dodd-Frank Act set new rules for big banks and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
🏳️🌈
Equality & Fair Pay
Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, repealed “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” and protected Dreamers through DACA.
🌍
Climate Leadership
Helped secure the Paris Climate Agreement and set the first national limits on carbon pollution from power plants.
🕊️
Diplomacy & Security
Ordered the mission that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, reached the Iran nuclear agreement, and reopened relations with Cuba.
Timeline
A Life of Public Service
From the South Side of Chicago to the Oval Office, and beyond.
1990
Elected first Black president of the Harvard Law Review
8 yrs
Serving in the Illinois State Senate
2004
DNC keynote: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America”
2 terms
As the 44th President of the United States
1985
Organizing on the South Side
Moved to Chicago to work with churches on job training and neighborhood issues.
1996
Elected to the Illinois Senate
Went on to pass ethics reform and expand health care for children and working families.
2004
Elected to the U.S. Senate
Won his Senate seat in a landslide after a breakout convention keynote.
2008
Elected President
Defeated Sen. John McCain to become the 44th President and the first Black president.
2010
Health Care for All Americans
Signed the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform into law.
2012
Re-elected
Defeated Gov. Mitt Romney, winning 26 states and the District of Columbia.
2015
Paris & Progress
Helped deliver the Paris Climate Agreement as the economy continued its record run of job growth.
2017–Today
The Obama Foundation
Building the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago and training the next generation of leaders.
In His Own Words
Books by Barack Obama
Politics · 2006
The Audacity of Hope
His case for a politics built on common ground and shared American values.
Learn more →Presidential Memoir · 2020
A Promised Land
The first volume of his presidential memoirs, from the 2008 campaign through the bin Laden mission.
Learn more →Keep the Hope Alive
The presidency ended, but the work didn't. Support the Obama Foundation's mission to inspire, empower and connect people to change their world.