Abiodun alao biography of barack obama

However, the president suffered a significant drop in his approval ratings, to 45 percent, partially due to the revelations. In AugustObama ordered the first airstrikes against the Islamic State on targets in Syria, though the president pledged to keep combat troops out of the conflict. Several Arab countries joined the airstrikes against the extremist group.

However, U. As of Decembermore than 1, people have died, according to military officials. Outside watchdog organizations, like Airwars, estimate the number of casualties could be as many as several thousand. In SeptemberObama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. In JulyObama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and abiodun alao biography of barack obama world powers had reached an agreement with Iran. The deal allowed inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon.

In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U. Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies.

However, the long-standing U. Kennedyremained in effect. On March 20,Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba sinceas part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Just prior to the trip, on March 10,Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.

In Augustthe Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnellwho was then the Republican minority leader.

In Februarythe Supreme Court ruled,to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants. Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources.

Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by On October 5,the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to take effect starting on November 4, Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.

In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present year-old U. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April when Neil Gorsuchnominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.

The presidents granted a total of 1, clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manningthe U. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate.

Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School 20 children and six adult fatalities in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater 12 fatalities ; a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina 9 fatalities ; and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 49 fatalities.

Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:. On January 27,Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed.

In his State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks. With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies.

On January 12,Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. On January 10,Obama returned to his adopted home city of Chicago to deliver his farewell address. In his speech, Obama spoke about his early days in the Windy City and his continued faith in the power of Americans who participate in their democracy. He called on politicians and American citizens to come together despite their differences.

But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Nigerian academic born Education [ edit ]. Truman Dwight D.

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Abiodun alao biography of barack obama

Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. Barack Obama: Life in Brief. Breadcrumb U. Thanks in part to his movie-star good looks, wit and beaming smile, the 6ft 2in politician became an instant media darling. He won over some of the entertainment industry's biggest players, including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Halle Berry, all of whom declared he would have their support if he ran for the presidency in And, in a rousing speech evoking the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, he called for unity within the nation.

As an addition to that message embodied by his mixed-race background - he spoke of the need for universal health care, ending poverty in America and tackling the nation's dependence on oil. An early critic of the Iraq War, he also announced his intention to bring the troops home and care for war veterans. Critics expressed doubts over his relative inexperience compared to fellow Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.

Such issues seemed to have shrunk into the background, however, when on January 3,Barack took his first significant step on the road to the Oval Office by winning the Iowa Democratic caucuses. He led the field with 38 per cent of the votes ahead of fellow Democrat challengers John Edwards, with 30 per cent, and Hillary Clinton with 29 per cent.

On November 4, buoyed up by a record turn-out of the like not seen the election of John F Kennedy inthe man who once referred to himself as "the skinny kid with a funny name" was chosen as the 44th president of the United States. But Obama would find presidency difficult, as he inherited the repercussions of the financial crisis and the Iraq war.

His first actions involved a major stimulus package to recover from the Great Recession. He reformed health care with the Affordable Care Act, informally called Obamacare, and ended major U. He famously ordered the counterterrorism raid which killed Osama Bin Laden, which he was lauded for, but was criticised for his use of drone strikes and air strikes early on.

Obama was re-elected in for a second term, where he aimed to combat climate change. He also negotiated a nuclear agreement with Iran and worked to resolve relations with Cuba which had been hostile for 54 years at the time.