Leader Profile: U.S President Barack Obama

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He is the most recognizable person on the planet. Now serving his second term in office, Barack Obama made history in 2008 when he became the first Black American President in history.
Barack Hussein Obama was born on 4th August 1961 in Hawaii. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Kansas and his father, Barack Obama Sr, is from Kenya. When Barack Obama was a toddler, his father abandoned the family and his parents divorced. His mother then married an Indonesian man and the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. Obama later moved back to Haiwaii, where he was raised mainly by his grandparents. His upbringing in Indonesia fuelled conspiracy theories that Mr Obama was not born in the United States and in 2008 and 2011, Obama provided two seperate birth certificates to prove he was born in the US. After graduating from Columbia University in New York, Mr Obama worked for three years as a community organizer in poor neighborhoods in Chicago, before then attending Harvard Law School. He met his wife Michelle Robinson whilst working at a Chicago law firm. The couple then married in 1992 and have two daughters; Malia and Sahsa. In 1995, Obama published his first book, 'Dreams from my father' - a memoir - and the following year he was elected to the Illinois state sentate. He first tried to run for Congress in 2000, but did not succeed. Four years later he was back, running for the US senate and won his campaign. He embarked on his Presidential campaign in February 2007, after being a senate for just two years. His campaign excited millions of liberals, especially young voters, who wanted something new in Washington after two terms of George W. Bush. Mr Obama beat Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, to become the Democratic nomination. John Mccain was nominated as the Republican candidate, and Obama and Mr Mccain took part in three Presidential debates as part of their campaigns. And, after the American people voted, Barack Obama won the 2008 Presidential election - becoming America's first African American President with 52.9% of the vote compared to Mr Mccains 45.7%. Obama announced he would be running for a second-term in the 2012 elections in April 2011. He went against republican candidate Mitt Romney and won 332 electoral votes - exceeding the 270 required for him to be re-elected. And so, Barack Obama is now serving his second, and final term, as the 44th President of the United States of America.