Washington, Nov 4 (IANS) Milestones in the life and presidency of US President Barack Obama who will be in India Nov 6-9:
Aug 4, 1961: Barack Obama is born to Barack Obama Sr, a Kenyan economist, and Ann Dunham, an anthropologist from Kansas.
1991: Graduates as a lawyer from Harvard Law School.
1992: Marries Michelle Robinson in Chicago.
1993: Works as a lecturer in the University of Chicago Law School.
1996: Gets elected to Senate of Illinois.
November 2004: Wins the election from Illinois to US Senate.
February 2007: Announces candidacy for US presidency.
August 2008: Declared nominee of Democratic Party for 2008 presidential election.
November 2008: Becomes first African American in history to win the US presidential election.
January 2009: Sworn into the office. Announces decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, citing high cost of operating it, and Al Qaeda still using the image of Guantanamo to justify attacks.
February 2009: Decides to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan; signs a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from recession.
March 2009: Reverses a policy adopted by the Bush government to limit funding of embryonic stem cell research.
July 2009: Introduces plan for overhauling the US healthcare system and signs the bill into law in March 2010.
2009: Awarded Nobel Peace Prize ‘for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples’.
April 2010: Handles massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – an
environmental disaster considered the largest in US history. This is considered the darkest spot in Obama’s tenure as president.
