*Barack Obama
(55 years old)
4 August 1961
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
6' 1" (1.85 m)
(55 years old)
4 August 1961
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
6' 1" (1.85 m)
When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six. He later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten. Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, and married Michelle Robinson, a fellow attorney. Eventually he was elected to the Illinois state senate, where his district included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side. In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and he gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for President, and despite having only four years of national political experience, he won. In January 2009, he was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American ever elected to that position. Obama was reelected to a second term in November 2012. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
Trade Mark*
Rolled up sleeves
Strong, Inspiring Speeches.
Trivia*
His first name comes from the word that means "blessed by God" in Arabic.In the Kenyan town where his father was born, the long-brewed "Senator" brand of beer has been nicknamed "Obama."
U.S. Senator from Illinois since 3 January 2005.
Won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for the CD version of his autobiography "Dreams From My Father" (2006).
Lived in Hyde Park in Chicago.
On Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), he revealed that President George W. Bushnicknamed him "Bama" and "Rock".
The movie he saw on his first date with Michelle Obama was Haz lo que debas (1989).
He is a sixth cousin once removed to Park Overall.
Has two daughters, Malia Obama (born in 1998) and Sasha Obama (born in 2001).
Candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 US presidential election.
Several celebrities including; Halle Berry, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Topher Grace, Macy Gray, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Eddie Murphy and John Cleese support his 2008 presidential campaign. Robert De Niro gave his endorsement at the same rally where Barack was endorsed by Caroline and Ted Kennedy.
Enjoys playing basketball and poker.
At his wife's suggestion, he quit smoking before his campaign to win the Democratic nomination began.
His paternal relatives still live in Kenya.
Confessed teenage drug experiences in his memoirs "Dreams from My Father".
One of his ancestors was Mareen Duvall, also an ancestor of actor Robert Duvall.
Shares his surname with a small city in western Japan, which means "small shore" in Japanese.
Plays basketball.
Born to Barack Obama Sr. (1936-1982) and Ann Dunham (1942-1995) married from 1961 to 1965.
Named one of Time magazine's "100 most influential people in the world" list in 2005 and 2007.
Chosen as one of "10 people would change the world" by New Statesman magazine (2005).
Won his second Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Audacity of Hope" (2008).
On June 3, 2008 he won the Montana primary election giving him enough delegates to become the first Black American presidential candidate to win a major political party's presumptive nomination for the office of President of the United States.
Is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan.
More than 215,000 people attended his speech in Berlin on 24 July 2008.
Has one half-sister, Maya, born to his mother and stepfather in 1970.
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show Les guignols de l'info (1988).
Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham died Sunday November 2, 2008 in the early evening in Honolulu from cancer. She was 86.
Is the first African-American man to be elected President of the United States (November 2008).
When elected President, he won the battleground states of North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which had voted Republican in 2004.
Is the first American president to be born in Hawaii.
Was the 27th lawyer to be elected American president.
Was elected to be the 44th president of the Unites States of America on 4 November, 2008.
As a child growing up in Hawaii, his classmates knew him as Barry.
Presidential campaign slogan: "Change we can believe in".
Is primarily of Kenyan and English ancestry.
Favorite movies are Casablanca (1942), Lawrence de Arabia (1962), Alguien voló sobre el nido del cuco (1975), El padrino (1972), and El padrino. Parte II (1974).
Is a fan of The Wire - Bajo escucha (2002).
First ever US President to address a Muslim community at an inaugural speech.
Shares the same birthday as long-time White House correspondent and journalism legend, Helen Thomas. On her 89th birthday (and his 48th), they celebrated by blowing birthday cupcakes together in front of the press corps.
First United States Senator to be elected President since John F. Kennedy.
October 2009, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fourth US President to win a Nobel Peace Prize (2009) after Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919) and Jimmy Carter (2002).
Defended his decision not to issue a formal written statement on the death of controversial pop star Michael Jackson on 25 June 2009.
Half-brother of Maya Soetoro-Ng.
Brother-in-law of Konrad Ng.
Merited a position in Time magazine's - The 100 Most Influential People in the World ("Leaders" category) - with an homage contributed by David Remnick (Issue: May 10, 2010).
Received a gift of a Portuguese water dog from Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife Victoria. Because the particular breed is reportedly hypo-allergenic, the First Family and friends were highly unlikely to suffer any allergic reactions in the pet's presence.
Obama's appearance on The View (1997) (29 July 2010) made him the first ever sitting US President to appear as a guest on a daytime TV talk show.
Obama's birthplace of Hawaii makes him the first U.S. president not born in the continental United States.
Brother-in-law of basketball player, coach and author Craig Robinson.
Son of Barack Obama Sr..
The character of Matt Santos in 'The West Wing' is based on him.
The first US President to be born after the Vietnam War started.
Is a big fan of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and collected the comics as a youth.
Counts Homeland (2011) as one of his favorite TV shows.
First U.S. President to be personally presented with an Apple iPad 2 by Steve Jobs before it was officially released domestically. Obama is frequently seen using Apple devices.
Notable for being the first United States President to participate in social media. He is the first President to have a personal Facebook page and a Twitter account, and the first President to hold Q&A sessions via those forums and YouTube. He is also the first sitting President to own and use an iPod, Blackberry (custom made for security purposes), and iPad.
His daily newspapers are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He claims to not watch cable TV news stations.
Introduced the 50th anniversary television broadcast of Matar a un ruiseñor (1962).
Can speak Indonesian to a certain degree, having lived in Indonesia for a number of years during his childhood.
The TV presidential election campaign commercial for Obama featured, Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, Larry Gelbart, Valerie Harper, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (slogan: "This Ain't Funny, it's a serious election. Don't vote out of fear, vote for hope - Vote for Obama").
Was a classmate of Hill Harper's at Harvard Law School.
First United States President to be elected twice with over 50% of the popular vote since Ronald Reagan and the first Democratic President elected as such since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
First two-term President to take the Oath of Office four times. The first time, during his televised first inauguration, Chief Justice John Roberts made a mistake while reading the Oath of Office, which Obama repeated to avoid embarrassment. A few days later, he called Roberts into his office to do it again, and this time read it correctly. By law, the President is sworn in at noon on January 20. In 2013, the month and date fell on a Sunday, but to comply with the Blue Law (no work on Sunday), he was sworn in privately in the Oval Office, and then again publicly the next day. The two before him that were sworn in on Monday, January 21st, were Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 and Ronald Reagan in 1985.
One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World (2013).
First US President since Jimmy Carter in 1979 to speak directly on the phone with a leader of Iran - Hassan Rouhani. [September 2013]
Elected the 44th President of the United States of America [November 2008]
Favorite films are El padrino (1972) and El padrino. Parte II (1974).
In the 2008 presidential election, he won the state of North Carolina with a 0.32% margin of victory. Normally considered a solid Republican state, the margin was small enough that it took days after the election to call the state, although this had little regard on calling the election, as nationally it was a landslide victory and winning or losing North Carolina would have made no difference. The last time prior to this that North Carolina elected a democrat was in 1976 when they elected Jimmy Carter.
One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. [April 2014].
He is related to Jimmy Carter in multiple ways. Through Adrian Gordy they are seventh cousins three times removed. Through William Terrell and Susannah Waters they are eighth cousins twice removed.
British author Anthony Horowitz wrote of a Black Prime Minister in 2009 not long before Obama was elected President.
First sitting US President to visit a federal prison when he toured El Reno Correctional Institution in Oklahoma (July 16, 2015).
Personal Quotes*
[from keynote speech given at the 2004 Democratic party national convention] There's not a liberal America and a conservative America. There's the United States of America. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war, and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight -- who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was President of the United States of America.
[regarding former President Bill Clinton's support for his wife--and Obama's opponent for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination--Hillary Clinton] Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against.
[when asked whether he would call on Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to release their tax returns, after Hilary loaned $5 million of her own money to her campaign] I'll just say that I've released my tax returns. That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave it up to you guys to chase it down . . . I think we set the bar in terms of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my campaign and my career in politics.
In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
When I am this party's [Democratic party] nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave [George W. Bush] the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney [former VP Dick Cheney] policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is okay for America to torture - because it is NEVER okay. That's why I am in it.
As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."
This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
Change is coming to America.
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know, we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams, are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations.
In Washington, the call this the Ownership Society, and it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're fired!"
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations.
In Washington, we call this the Ownership society, and it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're fired!"
To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and the structural feminists and punk rock performance poets. We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Franz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy. When we ground our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints. We weren't indifferent or careless or insecure. We were alienated.
(visiting Ireland) My name is Barack Obama of the Moneygall O'Bamas. And I've come to find the apostrophe we lost along the way.
Hopefully, more and more people will begin to feel their story is somehow a part of the larger story of how we're going to reshape America in a way that is less mean spirited and more generous. I mean I really hope to be a part of the transformation of this country.
I'm not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me. And I'm not interested in isolating myself. I feel good when I'm engaged in what I think are the core issues of the society, and those issues to me are what's happening to poor folks in this society.
It's crucial that people don't see my election as a sign of progress in the broader sense that we don't sort of point to a Barack Obama any more than you point to a Bill Cosby or a Michael Jordan and say "Well things are hunky dory".
To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, or at least as it's been interpreted and Warren court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the Federal government or the state government must do on your behalf, and that has shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that.
Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years, and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
It's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton ballroom, or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper.
You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we're talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective. (May 9, 2012)
I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married. (May 9, 2012)
I believe the majority of gun owners would agree we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons. And we should check someone's criminal record before they can check out a gun seller. A mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily. These steps shouldn't be controversial. They should be common sense.
We can't continue to sustain a situation in which some countries are maintaining surpluses, others massive deficits and there never is the kind of adjustment with respect to currency that would lead to a more balanced growth pattern.
My image of Onyango, faint as it was, has always been of an autocratic man - a cruel man, perhaps. But I had also imagined him an independent man, a man of his people, opposed to white rule... What Granny had told us scrambled that image completely, causing ugly words to flash across my mind. Uncle Tom. Collaborator. House nigger.
The only way my life makes sense is if - regardless of culture, race, religion, tribe - there is this commonality, these essential human truths and passions and hope and moral precepts, that we can reach out beyond our differences. If that is not the case, then it is pretty hard for me to make sense of my life. That is the core of who I am.
[on election night, November 4, 2008] This is your victory. I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.
[on the political choice as he sees it in 2012] This isn't a matter of who's more patriotic or who is more empathetic toward people or who is nicer. It's a hardheaded assessment of what makes our economy grow. And the facts are on my side in this argument.
Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hardwired not to think clearly when we're scared.
What I wake up determined to accomplish every single day is making the best decisions I can. And the only thing then to guide you is what you genuinely think is best for the country. Because if you start trying to guess what's going to be most politically advantageous or try to game all that stuff out, you'll get lost very quickly.
We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen.
I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.
Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later.
As President of our country and Commander-in-Chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.
If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. If you don't have a record to run on, than you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from.
[on Donald Trump's refusal to trust the validity of the President's personal documents] This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya.
I've always believed that education begins at home, with parents who take responsibility - who read to their kids, set limits on the TV and instill a lifelong love of learning. But there is no substitute for a good school or the teacher who stands in front of the classroom.
[to the crowd at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration] I want to look out one more time. I'm not going to see this again.
The truth is that we have steadily become a more diverse and tolerant country that embraces people's differences and respect people who are not like us. That's a profoundly good thing. That's one of the strengths of America.
[on the 2012 campaign trail] If you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn't possible, well, change will not happen. Other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests, the people with ten million dollar checks who are trying to buy this election.
[on Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)] The people of Oklahoma are lucky to have someone like Tom representing them in Washington - someone who speaks his mind, sticks to his principles and is committed to the people he was elected to serve. Each of us still hopes the other will see the light. But in the meantime, we'll settle for being friends.
[ at the 2009 White House Correspondents Dinner] Mother's Day is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother'.
AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers and not in the hands of crooks. They belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities.
[on Nelson Mandela] I had read his writings and speeches and understood this was somebody who believed in the basic principle I just talked about - treating people equally. He was willing to sacrifice his life for that belief. He's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard. He's a hero for the world. If and when he passes from this place, one thing we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages.
We discussed the fact that Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson.
Trayvon Martin could have been me thirty-five years ago.
[on the outlawed use of poison gas in Syria] I didn't set a red line, the world set a red line.
[to Dmitri Medvedev] This is my last election, after my election, I'll have more flexibility.
[on why he quit smoking] I haven't had a cigarette in probably six years. That's because I'm scared of my wife.
[on critics of American engagement with Iran, 2013] Tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it's not the right thing to do for our security.
No party has a monopoly on wisdom.
[from a 2012 campaign speech] If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: the lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election, and those who are making it harder for you to vote.
[on the passing of Pete Seeger at age 94] Once called 'America's tuning fork', Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song. But more importantly, he believed in the power of community - to stand up for what's right, speak out against what's wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be. Over the years, Pete used his voice - and his hammer - to strike blows for workers' rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation. And he always invited us to sing along. For reminding us where we came from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful for Pete Seeger.
[at the 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner, on government gridlock] If you want to get paid while not working, you should have to run for Congress like everyone else.
[In response to the issue of rising US gun violence after another school shooting] We're the only developed country on Earth where this happens. And it happens now once a week. And it's a one-day story. There's no place else like this.
[downplaying the role of military action in U.S. global leadership] Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.
[to the graduating class at West Point, 2014] For the foreseeable future, the most direct threat to America, at home and abroad, remains terrorism. But a strategy that involves invading every country that harbours terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable.
[2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner Speech] It is great to be back. What a year, huh? I usually start these dinners with a few self-deprecating jokes. After my stellar 2013, what can I possibly talk about? I admit it - last year was rough. Sheesh. At one point, things got so bad, the 47 percent called Mitt Romney to apologize.
[2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner Speech] Let's face it, Fox, you'll miss me when I'm gone. It will be harder to convince the American people that Hillary was born in Kenya.
[from a speech on November 20, 2014] To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.
We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States.
We are not at war with Islam.
[on commuting prison sentences for 46 drug offenders, July 13, 2015] These men and women were not violent criminals , but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least twenty years. Fourteen of them had been to sentenced to life for non-violent drug offenses, so their punishments didn't fit the crime. I believe that America, at its heart, is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.
[on the U.S. and Cuba re-opening their embassies, 2015 ] We don't have to be imprisoned by the past.
