Barack Obama turned 65 in 2026. Over the past six decades, he has gone from growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia to becoming the first black president of the United States. Here is a look back at the key moments that shaped his life and career.
Early years
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham was from Kansas while his father Barack Obama Sr. was a kenian economics student, studying at the University of Hawaii. They separated when he was two years old, and his father returned to Kenya. Obama saw him only once more, during a visit, when he was ten. Barack Obama Sr died in a car crash in 1982.
After his mother married indonesian geologist Lolo Soetoro, the family moved to Jakarta in 1967. Obama spent four years there before returning to Honolulu in 1971 to live with his maternal grandparents. He attended Punahou School, one of Hawaii's leading private schools, graduating in 1979.
Finding his purpose
Obama started college at Occidental College in Los Angeles before transfering to Colombia University, where he graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After a year working in New York, he moved to Chicago in 1985 to become a community organizer on the city's South Side. Working with churches and residents of the Altgeld Gardens housing project introduced him to challenges facing working class communities and shaped the political views he would carry throughout his career.
He left Chicago to attend Harvard Law School. In 1990 he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, one of the most prestigious positions in american legal education. He earned his law degree the following year.
Family and legal career
Returning to Chicago, Obama practiced civil rights law, taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School and worked on voter registrations campaigns.
He met Michelle Robinson while both were at the law firm Sidley Austin. They married in 1992, and later had two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Entering politics
Obama won elections on the Illinois State Senate in 1996, where he spent 8 years building a reputation as a pragmatic democrat willing to work across party lines.
His first bid for Congress ended in defeat when he lost a democratic primary in 2000. Rather than ending his political career, the setback became a turning point.
The speech that launched a national career
In July 2004, Obama delivered a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
The speech, centered on the idea that the americans had more in common than political divisions suggested, instantly introduced him to a national audience. Months later, he won elections to the US Senate and took office in January 2005.
The road to the White House
On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois.
He defeated Hillary Clinton in one of the longest an most competitive democratic primaries in recent history before facing republican nominee Johnn McCain in the general election.
In November, 2008, Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, making history st the country's first black president. He was sworn into office in January, next year.
Two terms as a president
Obama entered office as the United States faced its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Congress quickly approved an economic stimulus package aimed at stabilizing the economy and protecting jobs.
His biggest domestic achievement came in 2010 with the Affordable Care Act, which expanded access to health insurance for millions of americans and remains the signature legislation of his presidency.
In May 2011, Obama announced that US special operations forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, ending a decade long search for the al-Qaeda leader behind the September 11 attacks.
His administration also oversaw the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, publicly backed same sex mariages, restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, negotiated the Iran nuclear agreement and brought the United Stated into the Paris Climate Agreement.
Obama won a second term in 2012, defeating republican nominee Mitt Romney and left office in January 2017 after serving the maximum two terms allowed under the Constitution.
Life after the presidency
Since leaving the White House, Obama has focused on writing, philantropy and media. Together with Michelle Obama, he founded Higher Ground, a production company behind award winning documetaries and films, while the Obama Foudation continues to support leadership and civic engagement programs around the world.
He has remained an influential voice with the Democratic Party, campaining for candidates during election years, while largely avoiding a day to day role in politics.
A lasting legacy
Supporters remember Obama for expanding access to healthcare, guiding the country trough the financial crisis, overseeing the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, and breaking one of the highest racial barriers in american politics.
Critics point to continued political polarization, the pace of economic recovery after the recession,rising national debt and foreign policy challenges, including conflict in Libya and Syria.
Nearly a decade after leaving office, Obama remains one of the most recognizable political figures in the world. He rise from community organizer on Chicago's South Side to the presidency remains one of the defining political stories of the 21st century.