Barack Hussein Obama

44th President of the United States
(January 20, 2009 to Present)

Nicknames: None listed.

Born: August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii

Father: Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
Mother: Ann Dunham
Married: Michelle Robinson (1964- ), on October 18, 1992
Children: Malia Ann Obama (1999- ); Natasha "Sasha" Obama (2001- )

Religion: United Church of Christ
Education: Attended Occidental College; Graduated Columbia University (1983); Graduated from Harvard Law School (1991)
Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Democrat
Other Government Positions:

• Member of Illinois State Senate, 1996-2004

• United States Senator, 2005-08

Presidential Salary: $400,000/year + $50,000 expense account

Vice President: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (2009- )

Cabinet:

Secretary of State

Hillary Rodham Clinton (2009- )

Secretary of the Treasury

Timothy F. Geithner (2009- )

Secretary of Defense

Robert M. Gates (2006-11)

Leon E. Panetta (2011- )

Attorney General

Eric H. Holder, Jr. (2009- )

Secretary of the Interior

Kenneth L. Salazar (2009- )

Secretary of Agriculture

Thomas J. Vilsack (2009- )

Secretary of Commerce

Gary F. Locke (2009-11)

John Bryson (2011-12)

Rebecca M. Blank (2012- )

Secretary of Labor

Hilda L. Solis (2009- )

Secretary of Health and Human Services

Kathleen Sebelius (2009- )

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Shaun L.S. Donovan (2009- )

Secretary of Transportation

Ray LaHood (2009- )

Secretary of Energy

Steven Chu (2009- )

Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan (2009- )

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Eric K. Shinseki (2009- )

Secretary of Homeland Security

Janet A. Napolitano (2009- )

Supreme Court Appointments:

Associate Justice

Sonia Sotomayor (2009- )

Elena Kagan (2010- )

Notable Events:

• 2009

  • In an effort to rejuvenate the struggling U.S. economy, Congress passes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allocates money for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization.

• 2010

  • The Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010.

Internet Biographies:

Barack Obama -- from White House

Compiled by the White House.

Barack Obama -- from American Presidents: Life Portraits -- C-SPAN

Biographical information, trivia, key events, video, and other reference materials. Website created to accompany C-SPAN's 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits.

Barack Hussein Obama -- from The American President

From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.

Historical Documents:

Keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (2004)

"A More Perfect Union" (2008)

Obama election night remarks (2008)

First Inaugural Address (2009)

President Obama's Election Night Speech (2012)

Second Inaugural Address (2013)

Media Resources:

Other Internet Resources:

Newspaper Front Pages from November 5, 2008 -- from Newseum

Images of newspaper and magazine front pages from around the world on the day after Obama's historic victory in the 2008 Presidential election.

Points of Interest:

• Obama was the first African-American U.S. president.

• Obama was the first president born outside of the contiguous United States.

• Obama was the eighth left-handed president of the United States.

• Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States
(January 20, 2009 to Present)

Michelle Obama

Video