Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

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Sights & Sounds Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009

This newsletter features the best of our multimedia offerings. To see more of our cool stuff, go to the Photos & Video front.

INTERACTIVE FEATURE

In The Moment

» VIDEOS | Witnessing Barack Obama's Historic Inauguration.

Inauguration Photo Mosaic

MORE FEATURES

Quintuple the Joy, Quintuple the Fatigue

» PHOTOS | When Adwai Malual, of Sudan, first learned she was pregnant with multiple children she thought it would be easy.

Few Problems From Winter's First Snow

» PHOTOS | Washington D.C. copes with the season's first round of sleet, freezing rain and ice after Tuesday's snowfall. VIDEO:President's Message

Gaza Cease-Fire in Jeopardy

»PHOTOS | The Obama administration's Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell arrives in Israel as renewed clashes threaten tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.