Claim: Hillary Clinton was a politician.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton -LRB- -LSB- ˈhɪləri_daɪˈæn_ˈrɒdəm_ˈklɪntən -RSB- born October 26 , 1947 -RRB- is an American politician who was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 , U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009 , First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 , and the Democratic Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election .   Born in Chicago , Illinois , and raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge , Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 , and earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1973 . After serving as a congressional legal counsel , she moved to Arkansas and married Bill Clinton in 1975 . In 1977 , she co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families . She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 and became the first female partner at Rose Law Firm the following year . As First Lady of Arkansas , she led a task force whose recommendations helped reform Arkansas 's public schools .   As First Lady of the United States , Clinton was an advocate for gender equality and healthcare reform . Her relationship with her husband came under public speculation during the Lewinsky scandal , forcing her to issue a statement reaffirming her commitment to the marriage . Clinton was elected in 2000 as the first female senator from New York . She was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 . Running for president in 2008 , she won far more delegates than any previous female candidate , but lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama .   As Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013 , Clinton responded to the Arab Spring , during which she advocated the U.S. military intervention in Libya . She helped organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran , in an effort to force curtailment of that country 's nuclear program ; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement in 2015 . Leaving office after Obama 's first term , she wrote her fifth book and undertook speaking engagements .   Clinton made a second presidential run in 2016 . She received the most votes and primary delegates in the 2016 Democratic primaries , and formally accepted her party 's nomination for President of the United States on July 28 , 2016 with vice presidential running mate Senator Tim Kaine . She became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , Clinton lost the Electoral College and the presidency to her Republican opponent Donald Trump . Following her loss , in 2017 she decided to focus on being a self-described `` activist citizen '' .