When did Barack Obama become president? He was elected Nov. 4, 2008, and took office as the nation's 44th president on Jan. 20, 2009. Both days were monumental Obama, and for the country.
He is the first black chief executive of the world's most powerful nation.
Here are some other important dates in the life of Barack Obama:
Aug. 4, 1961: Obama is born at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother Stanley Ann Dunham was born in Kansas, and his father Barack Obama Sr., was from Kenya.
March 15, 1965: Following her divorce from Obama's father, Ann Dunham marries Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian graduate student she met in Hawaii. Dunham moves with her son to Indonesia to join Soetoro in 1967.
1979: After four years in Indonesia and eight years in Hawaii, several of them with his maternal grandparents, Obama moves to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College, where he would make his first public speech — calling on the college to disinvest from South Africa due to its apartheid policy.
How Do You Rate Obama Among American Presidents? You Can Vote in Newsmax’s Presidential Survey – Click Here Now
1981: Obama transfers to Columbia University in New York City, and graduates two years later with a degree in political science.
1988: After several jobs in New York and three years of work as a community organizer in Chicago, Obama enters Harvard Law School, where he would be selected as editor of the Harvard Law Review.
1991: Obama graduates magna cum laude from Harvard and returns to Chicago.
Oct. 18, 1992: Obama weds Michelle Robinson.
July 18, 1995: Obama's first book, "Dreams from My Father," is published.
Nov. 1996: After teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, Obama is elected to the Illinois State Senate. He is re-elected in 1998 and again in 2000, when he loses a Democratic primary race for the U.S. House.
July 4, 1998: Obama's daughter Malia is born.
June 10, 2001: Obama's second daughter Natasha (Sasha) is born.
March 2004: Obama wins the Democratic Party's primary and becomes the nominee for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.
July 2004: Obama gains national attention by delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.
November 2004: Obama wins the general election to U.S. Senate with 70 percent of the vote.
Oct. 17, 2006: Obama's second book, "The Audacity of Hope," is published.
Who Is Your Favorite President? You Can Vote in Newsmax’s Presidential Survey – Click Here Now
Feb. 10, 2007: Obama announces his candidacy for president in Springfield, Ill.
June 19, 2008: Obama becomes the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election.
Nov. 4, 2008: Obama wins the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by Republican opponent John McCain.
Jan. 20, 2009: Obama is sworn in as president.
Feb. 17, 2009: Obama signs a $787 billion economic stimulus package to combat a deepening recession.
Feb. 27, 2009: Obama announces that combat operations in Iraq would end within 18 months.
Aug. 6, 2009: Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, is confirmed.
Sept. 30, 2009: The Obama administration proposes new regulations on power plants, factories, and oil refineries in an attempt to curb global warming.
Oct. 9, 2009: Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
March 21, 2010: Obama's healthcare reform legislation, Obamacare, passes Congress and is signed by the president two days later.
Aug. 5, 2010, Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, is confirmed.
Aug. 19, 2010: The last U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq.
Dec. 22, 2010: Obama signs legislation repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell act.
March 18, 2011: Obama orders a U.S. military attack on forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
May 1, 2011: U.S. forces kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
Nov. 6, 2012: Obama is re-elected with 51.1 percent of the popular vote and 332 electoral votes to 206 for Republican opponent Mitt Romney.
Sept. 11, 2012: Islamic militants attack the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, killing the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.
Jan. 16, 2013: Obama signs 23 executive orders and outlines a series of proposals regarding gun control, urging Congress to reinstate a ban on military-style assault weapons.
Jan. 20, 2013: Obama is sworn in to his second term as president.
Feb. 12, 2013: Obama announces a drawdown of 34,000 troops from Afghanistan.
Feb. 12, 2014: Obama signs an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors.
March 1, 2014: Obama speaks by telephone with Vladimir Putin about Russia's military movements in Ukraine.
May 25, 2014: The president makes an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to visit troops and military leaders.
Aug. 7, 2014: Obama announces the authorization of targeted airstrikes against ISIS forces in Iraq.
Aug. 27, 2014: Obama's approval rating, which was 68 percent when he took office, stands at 46 percent, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll, with 41 percent of respondents saying they "strongly disapprove" of his job performance.
Is Obama the Best President? Vote in Newsmax’s Presidential Survey – Click Here Now
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.