America's 1st African American president, Barack Obama

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America, was inaugurated as president on 20th January 2009.

Born Barack Hussein Obama II on August 4, 1961, President Obama has lived and studied in many places in his early childhood such as Jakarta and Hawaii. He then continued his studies and work in America. He is married to Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, whom he had 2 daughters with.

On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for president of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence and providing universal health care.

His campaigns have garnered much support. During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976. After a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. On October 9, 2009, he was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

This marks a significant day in history because not only is President Obama America’s 1st African-American president to hold the office, he is also the 1st president to be born in Hawaii. He has also called for much reform regarding US's health care and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession.In the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.8% annual pace. Obama has claimed that the stimulus package helped stop the economic downturn. Various economists have credited the stimulus package with helping to create economic growth. However, unemployment has continued to rise to 10.2% (the highest in 26 years), and the "underemployment" rate rose to 17.5%. In mid-November, Obama said he was concerned that the excessive deficit spending could cause the economy to slide into a "double dip" recession.