Barack Hussein Obama II [ a ] born August 4, is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 44th president of the United States from to Obama previously served as a U. Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University in with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and later worked as a community organizer in Chicago.
He became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from to In , Obama was elected to represent the 13th district in the Illinois Senate , a position he held until , when he successfully ran for the U. In the presidential election , after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton , he was nominated by the Democratic Party for president.
Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts in international diplomacy, a decision which drew both criticism and praise. During his first term, his administration responded to the โ financial crisis with measures including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of , a major stimulus package to guide the economy in recovering from the Great Recession ; a partial extension of the Bush tax cuts ; legislation to reform health care ; and the DoddโFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , a major financial regulation reform bill.
He oversaw the end of the Iraq War ; and ordered Operation Neptune Spear , the raid that killed Osama bin Laden , who was responsible for the September 11 attacks. Obama downplayed Bush's counterinsurgency model, expanding air strikes and making extensive use of special forces, while encouraging greater reliance on host-government militaries.
He also ordered the military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution , contributing to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Obama defeated Republican opponent Mitt Romney in the presidential election.
