Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. His mother was Ann Dunham, and American of English descent from Wichita, Kansas. His father was Barack Obama, Sr., from Kenya. His parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He married Michelle Obama in 1992. He studied at Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He worked as a civil rights attorney and taught law at the University of Chicago from 1992-2004. He served three terms in the Illinois Senate and was elected to the US Senate in 2004. He began his run for the presidency in Feb. 2007. After running against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination and became the first major party African American candidate for president.

In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. He became the first president born in Hawaii and the third president to hail from Illinois. Many people like him because he represents the fact that African Americans can aspire to the presidency.

___ 1. Barack Obama was ______ when he ran for the presidency.
a. Senator from Hawaii
b. a civil rights attorney
c. US Senator from Illinois

___ 2. What were his parents doing when they met?
a. living in Russia
b. going to school
c. teaching
d. moving from UK to Hawaii

___ 3. He became president when he won against
a. Hillary Clinton
b. George Bush
c. John McCain

___ 4. How old was Obama when he became president?
a. 49
b. 47
c. 43

___ 5. What year was he elected President?
a. 2004
b. 2007
c. 2008
d. 2009