Barack Obama

**Barack Hussein Obama II** (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/ ( listen);[1] born August 4, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to serve as president. He was previously a United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Illinois State Senate.

Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state. Raised largely in Hawaii, he also spent one year of his childhood in Washington state and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. In 1988, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the *Harvard Law Review*. After graduating, he became a civil rights attorney and a professor, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He represented the 13th district for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U.S. Senate. He received national attention in 2004 with his unexpected March primary win, his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address, and his landslide November election to the Senate. In 2008, he was nominated for president a year after his campaign began and after a close primary campaignagainst Hillary Clinton. He was elected over Republican John McCain and was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. Nine months later, he was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, accepting the award with the caveat that he felt there were others "far more deserving of this honor than I."

During his first two years in office, Obama signed many landmark bills into law. The main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(often referred to as "Obamacare", shortened as the "Affordable Care Act"), the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 served as economic stimulus amidst the Great Recession. After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, he signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, he increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the United States–Russia New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi; Gaddafi was killed by NATO-assisted forces, and he also ordered the military operation that resulted in the deaths of Osama bin Laden and suspected Yemeni Al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki.

After winning re-election by defeating Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. During this term, he promoted inclusiveness for LGBT Americans. His administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional (*United States v. Windsor* and *Obergefell v. Hodges*); same-sex marriage was fully legalized in 2015 after the Court ruled that a same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional in *Obergefell*. He advocated for gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, indicating support for a ban on assault weapons, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, he ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change, initiated sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine and again after Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, brokered a nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized U.S. relations with Cuba.

Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating and currently resides in Washington, D.C. Since then, his presidency has been favorably ranked by historians and the general public.[2][3] He also had a high global approval rating, and the United States' reputation saw a dramatic upward shift during his presidency.[4]

## Contents

* 1Early life and career
	+ 1.1Education
	+ 1.2Family and personal life
	+ 1.3Law career
	+ 1.4Legislative career
* 2Presidential campaigns
	+ 2.12008
	+ 2.22012
* 3Presidency (2009–2017)
	+ 3.1First 100 days
	+ 3.2Domestic policy
	+ 3.3Foreign policy
	+ 3.4Cultural and political image
* 4Post-presidency (2017–present)
* 5Legacy
	+ 5.1Presidential library
* 6Bibliography
	+ 6.1Audiobooks
* 7See also
	+ 7.1Politics
	+ 7.2Other
	+ 7.3Lists
* 8Notes and references
	+ 8.1Notes
	+ 8.2References
* 9Further reading
* 10External links
	+ 10.1Official
	+ 10.2Other

## Early life and career

Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama

Obama was born on August 4, 1961,[5] at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii.[6][7][8] He is the only President who was born in Hawaii[9] and the only President who was born outside of the contiguous 48 states.[10] He was born to a white mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham (1942–1995), was born in Wichita, Kansas; she was mostly of English descent,[11] with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss, and Welsh ancestry.[12] His father, Barack Obama Sr. (1934–1982), was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyang'oma Kogelo. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student on a scholarship.[13][14] The couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2, 1961, six months before Obama was born.[15][16]

In late August 1961 (only a few weeks after he was born), Barack and his mother moved to the University of Washington in Seattle, where they lived for a year. During that time, the elder Obama completed his undergraduate degree in economics in Hawaii, graduating in June 1962. He then left to attend graduate school on a scholarship at Harvard University, where he earned an M.A. in economics. Obama's parents divorced in March 1964.[17]Obama Sr. returned to Kenya in 1964, where he married for a third time. He visited his son in Hawaii only once, at Christmas time in 1971,[18] before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old.[19] Recalling his early childhood, Obama said, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me – that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk – barely registered in my mind."[14] He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[20]

In 1963, Dunham met Lolo Soetoro at the University of Hawaii; he was an Indonesian East–West Center graduate student in geography. The couple married on Molokai on March 15, 1965.[21] After two one-year extensions of his J-1 visa, Lolo returned to Indonesia in 1966. His wife and stepson followed sixteen months later in 1967. The family initially lived in a Menteng Dalam neighborhood in the Tebet subdistrict of south Jakarta. From 1970, they lived in a wealthier neighborhood in the Menteng subdistrict of central Jakarta.[22]

### Education

 Website

**DeAndre Cortez Way** (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as **Soulja Boy Tell 'Em**, or simply **Soulja Boy**, is an American rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. In September 2007, his debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peaked at number one on the U.S. *Billboard* Hot 100. The single was initially self-published to the internet, and later became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.[6] On August 17, Way was listed at number 18 on the *Forbes* list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings of 2010 for earning $7 million for that year.[7]

His second studio album *Souljaboytellem.com* (2007) was his most successful album to date. His next two albums, *iSouljaBoyTellem* (2008) and *The DeAndre Way* (2010) did not match the commercial success of his debut, despite the success of several singles across both albums, such as "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", "Turn My Swag On" and "Pretty Boy Swag".

## Contents

* 1Early life
* 2Music career
	+ 2.12007–08: *Souljaboytellem.com* and *iSouljaBoyTellem*
	+ 2.22009–10: *The DeAndre Way*
	+ 2.32011–present: mixtapes, EPs, independent albums & *Blessed*
* 3Musical style
	+ 3.1Rapping technique
* 4Other ventures
	+ 4.1Stacks on Deck Entertainment
	+ 4.2Record production
	+ 4.3Fashion designing
	+ 4.4Acting career
	+ 4.5World Poker Fund Holdings
* 5Personal life
	+ 5.1Legal issues
	+ 5.2Robbery
	+ 5.3Family
* 6Public image and social media
* 7Controversies
	+ 7.1Ice-T
	+ 7.2Charles Hamilton
	+ 7.3Bow Wow
	+ 7.4U.S. Armed Forces
	+ 7.5Hopsin
	+ 7.6Chief Keef and Ballout
	+ 7.7Chris Brown
* 8Discography
* 9Tours
* 10Filmography
* 11Awards and nominations
* 12See also
* 13External links

## Early life

Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at the age of six,[8] where he became interested in rap music.[9] At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.[8] In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick.

Following positive reviews on the site, he established accounts on YouTube and Myspace.[10][11] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album *Unsigned & Still Major: Da Album Before da Album*, followed by a low-budget video demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" had received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.[*citation needed*]

## Music career

### 2007–08: *Souljaboytellem.com* and *iSouljaBoyTellem*

Soulja Boy performing "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" in February 2008.

On August 12, 2007, the song was used on the television series *Entourage*, and on September 1 it topped the US *Billboard* Hot 100 and Hot RingMasterscharts.[12] Way's major label debut album, *Souljaboytellem.com*, was released in the United States on October 2,[13] peaking at number four on both the *Billboard* 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[14] The album was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio.[15][16]

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", but lost to Kanye West and T-Pain's "Good Life". *Souljaboytellem.com* received a favorable review from Allmusic,[13] but received mainly negative reviews from other sources such as *Entertainment Weekly*.[17] Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he would likely be a one-hit wonder.[18][19][20]

The follow-up to *souljaboytellem.com*, *iSouljaBoyTellem*, was released on December 16, 2008 to negative critical reception.[21] The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at number 40 on the *Billboard* Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. It was performed on YouTube Live on November 22, 2008, with an introduction from MC Hammer.[22] "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at number three on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.[23] Chris Brown was originally Way's first choice to sing the hook, but had respectfully turned down the offer. Way then tried to do it on his own with Auto-Tune but he found it unacceptable.[24] It sold over 2,000,000 digital copies in the United States, becoming his second song to reach the two million mark in downloads.[25][26] On January 26, 2009, Way released the third single "Turn My Swag On". It topped the US Rap Charts and peaked at number 19 on the *Billboard* Hot 100. As of August 23, 2009 it has sold more than 1,000,000 digital downloads in the United States.[26]

### 2009–10: *The DeAndre Way*

Way has stated that his third studio album, *The DeAndre Way*,[27] was intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated that he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West[28] and Eminem.[29] The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. On October 30, 2009, Way released three mixtapes: *Paranormal Activity*, *Dat Piff* and *Cortez*.[30] It was announced on February 18, 2010, that the first single from the album was going to be "All Black Everything" but the single was cancelled and the track was put on another promotional mixtape, *Legendary*.[31] The album's title was changed to *Dre* in an early 2010 commercial with a video snippet for "Do It Big" as the first single but this was cancelled as well.[32] The album title was reverted to *The DeAndre Way* in July 2010.

On June 8, 2010, the official lead single from the album was "Pretty Boy Swag". The single reached number 34 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Rap Songs chart.[33] The album's second single was due to be "Digital" which was instead used on his promotional mixtape *Best Rapper*.[34] Then it was announced that "Speakers Going Hammer" was going to be the second single, but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010, as the second single instead.[35] On October 13 Way performed "Pretty Boy Swag" and a snippet of his third single "Speakers Going Hammer". On October 19, 2010, Way released "Speakers Going Hammer" on iTunes with the single peaking at number 48 on the *Billboard* Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.[36] Way backed-out of the Summerbeatz tour in Australia in November 2010, where he was to have performed alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy,[37] in order to embark on his "Who They Want" tour in support of his upcoming album. *The DeAndre Way* was released on November 30, 2010, and has so far[*when?*] only sold 70,000 copies, making it Way's lowest-selling album.

### 2011–present: mixtapes, EPs, independent albums & *Blessed*

In 2011, Way released a series of mixtapes. The first, on January 22, was titled *Smooky* and had cartoon cover art of Way doing a 360 on a bicycle.[38] On March 17, Way released the mixtape *1UP* which had cover art based on the *Naruto* anime, with Way stating: "If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life. Power up with the new offering."[39] On April 20, Way released his mixtape *Juice* with cover art based on the film of the same name. Way stated he would also release a mini-movie of his own to go along with the mixtape, and that he was headed to greatness with the mixtape.[40] On July 15, Way released his EP mixtape titled *Bernaurd Arnault EP (Limited Edition)*.[41] Then on August 1, Way released another ep mixtape titled *21: EP*.[42] On August 31, Way released the mixtape *The Last Crown*, the cover of the mixtape is based on the artwork the Flammarion Engraving.[43][44] In September 2011, Way confirmed that he is working on a new album, *Promise*, which would be released in October.[45] Way also released the cover and title of his second independent album via Twitter, titled *Skate Boy*, with a notice that it would be available in stores on November 1.[46][47] On September 19, Way released the mixtape *Supreme*.[48] On October 30, *Skate Boy (Deluxe Edition)* was released as a mixtape, rather than an album.[49][50] On December 30, 2011, Way released another mixtape titled *Gold On Deck*.[51]

In 2012, Way released additional mixtapes while his album continued to be delayed. On January 9, Way released a mixtape for the beginning of the year, titled *50/13*, with the cover based on that of ASAP Rocky's mixtape *Live. Love. ASAP*.[52] On January 24, Way released a collaboration mixtape with his artist Young L titled *Mario & Domo vs. the World* with cover art based on the video game *Super Mario Bros*.[53] On March 23, Way released a mixtape titled *OBEY* which featured the promotional single "Too Faded".[54][55][56] On June 3, 2012, Way talked about his upcoming album *Promise* and stated that he has released so many mixtapes in the last two years because he feels he has to put out a lot of music and be as creative as possible.[57] On June 11, Way released another collaboration mixtape with rapper Vinny Chase titled *Double Cup City*.[58] On September 4, Way released the sequel mixtape *Juice II*, in which Way returned to his old production style with the beginning lines "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em". It is Way's most-downloaded mixtape.[59] His mixtape titled *Young & Flexin* was released on November 6.[60] On December 25, 2012, Way released *LOUD*, which was his first mixtape distributed on iTunes.[61][62]

2013 was marked by further album delays while Way's record deal expired, and he continued to release mixtapes. On February 22, Way released his first mixtape of the year, titled *Foreign*.[63] In March, it was rumored that Way was signing to Cash Money Records after getting a face tattoo saying "Rich Gang" the same weekend he was seen with his manager and Cash Money artists Birdman and Bow Wow.[64] This continued after he added "Rich Gang" or "YMCMB" to his social media platforms. Way had earlier reported that he was no longer with Interscope Records after his record deal ended in February.[65] Way also announced that his album *Promise* had been retitled *USA DRE*. On March 15, he released the first single from the album, titled "Handsome".[66][67]Following that, on March 25, he released the EP, *All Black*.[68] On April 24, Way released his mixtape *Foreign 2*.[69] Three days later, Way revealed the cover art to his next mixtape titled *King Soulja* which was released on May 5.[70] On May 26, Way released his second EP titled *Cuban Link*.[71][72] On June 13, Way announced another album title change, to *Life After Fame*, and that it would be released to stores on July 30, 2013.[73] On June 25, Way released his first single from the album titled "Ridin Round" to iTunes, but it was later dubbed a promotional single.[74][75] On June 30, Way released *Life After Fame* as a mixtape instead of an album.[76] On September 24, Way released his mixtape titled *23*.[77][78] On November 30, Way released his mixtape *The King*.[79][80] On December 28, 2013 rapper/singer Drake collaborated and remixed Way's intro track "We Made It" from his mixtape *The King*.[81][82]

In 2014, Way continued work on his fourth studio album while collaborating with other artists and releasing additional m

In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. He attended Punahou School— a private college preparatory school— with the aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until he graduated from high school in 1979.[29] In his youth, Obama went by the nickname "Barry".[30] Obama lived with his mother and half-sister, Maya Soetoro, in Hawaii for three years from 1972 to 1975 while his mother was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Hawaii.[31] Obama chose to stay in Hawaii with his grandparents for high school at Punahouwhen his mother and half-sister returned to Indonesia in 1975 so his mother could begin anthropology field work.[32] His mother spent most of the next two decades in Indonesia, divorcing Lolo in 1980 and earning a PhD degree in 1992, before dying in 1995 in Hawaii following unsuccessful treatment for ovarian and uterine cancer.[33]

Obama later reflected on his years in Honolulu and wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered – to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect – became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."[34] Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".[35] Obama was also a member of the "choom gang", a self-named group of friends that spent time together and occasionally smoked marijuana.[36][37]

After graduating from high school in 1979, Obama moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, Obama made his first public speech, calling for Occidental to participate in the disinvestment from South Africa in response to that nation's policy of apartheid.[38] In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and half-sister Maya, and visited the families of college friends in Pakistan and India for three weeks.[38] Later in 1981, he transferred as a junior to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations[39] and in English literature[40] and lived off-campus on West 109th Street.[41] He graduated with a BA degree in 1983 and worked for about a year at the Business International Corporation, where he was a financial researcher and writer,[42][43] then as a project coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group on the City College of New York campus for three months in 1985.[44][45][46]