Barak Obama Biography - His Life So Far
Barak Obama biography, dates: born August 4,
1961. Elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996. Elected to U.S. Senate,
November 2004, with 70% of the vote.
Barak Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to African
American Barak Hussein Obama, Sr. and White American Stanley Ann Dunham (both
now deceased). Obama's parents separated when he was two and later divorced. His
mother married an Indonesian and the family moved to Jakarta in 1967. Obama
attended Indonesian schools for 4 years, then returned to Honolulu to live with
his maternal grandparents. There he attended Punahou private school until
graduation in 1979. His 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, describes
the difficulties of his multi-racial upbringing. He abused alcohol, marijuana,
and cocaine as a teenager to, as Obama writes, "push questions of who I was out
of my mind."
After graduation, Obama commenced at Occidental College but transferred to Columbia University to major in political science. After receiving his B.A. he worked for a short time at Business International Corporation then moved to Chicago to direct a non-profit project organizing job training programs for poor residents. He entered Harvard Law School in 1988 and was elected the Harvard Law Review's first black president in its 104-year history. Returning to Chicago in 1991, he did some more non-profit work, before becoming an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, managing minority, voting rights and employment cases. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate from the 13th District, south-side Chicago, Hyde Park. In January 2003, the Democrats regained control of the chamber, and he became chairperson of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Obama authored an Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit benefiting lower-income families, worked for support of residents who could not afford health insurance, and helped increase funding for AIDS prevention and care programs. He authored a law requiring police to videotape death penalty interrogations, and supported gun control measures.
In 2004, Obama gained a seat in the U.S. Senate. Obama and his republican opponent Alan Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. Obama received 70% of the popular vote. An October 2005 article in the New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world." In Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Obama
in June 2006 spoke against George Bush's tax estate tax cuts, calling them a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses."
After graduation, Obama commenced at Occidental College but transferred to Columbia University to major in political science. After receiving his B.A. he worked for a short time at Business International Corporation then moved to Chicago to direct a non-profit project organizing job training programs for poor residents. He entered Harvard Law School in 1988 and was elected the Harvard Law Review's first black president in its 104-year history. Returning to Chicago in 1991, he did some more non-profit work, before becoming an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, managing minority, voting rights and employment cases. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate from the 13th District, south-side Chicago, Hyde Park. In January 2003, the Democrats regained control of the chamber, and he became chairperson of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Obama authored an Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit benefiting lower-income families, worked for support of residents who could not afford health insurance, and helped increase funding for AIDS prevention and care programs. He authored a law requiring police to videotape death penalty interrogations, and supported gun control measures.
In 2004, Obama gained a seat in the U.S. Senate. Obama and his republican opponent Alan Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. Obama received 70% of the popular vote. An October 2005 article in the New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world." In Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Obama
in June 2006 spoke against George Bush's tax estate tax cuts, calling them a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses."