| Barack Obama (Shpadoinkle Timeline) | |
|---|---|
| |
| 86th United States Attorney General | |
| Assumed office March 11, 2021 | |
| President | Elizabeth Warren |
| Deputy | Lisa Monaco |
| Preceded by | Sally Yates |
| 42nd Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 | |
| Lieutenant | Alexi Giannoulias |
| Preceded by | Pat Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Rahm Emanuel |
| Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district | |
| In office January 8, 1997 – Nov 5, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Alice Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 4, 1961 (age 60) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Robinson (m. 1992) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (BA)
Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature | 
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Barack Hussein Obama II (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 86th United States attorney general since March 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2011 to 2019 and was an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2010.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. 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 person to head the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Turning to elective politics, he represented the 13th district from 1997 until 2010 in the Illinois Senate. In 2004, Obama unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Senator Hillary Rodham for the Democratic nomination in the Illinois U.S. Senate election.
After then-governor of Illinois Rob Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office in January of 2009, Obama decided he would seek the Democratic nomination for governor of Illinois in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Obama formally announced his candidacy on April 4, 2009. He successfully defeated incumbent governor Pat Quinn in the state's Democratic primary and would win the general election against Republican opponent Bill Brady on November 2, 2010, making him the first African-American man to be elected governor of Illinois. He was reelected in 2014 after defeating businessman Bruce Rauner.
President Elizabeth Warren nominated Obama as Attorney General in January 2021. He was confirmed by the United States Senate in March.