President bill clinton biography presidency

Bill Clinton: Early Life and Education

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe Tierce on August 19, 1946, in Boot, Arkansas. He was the only babe of Virginia Cassidy Blythe (1923-94) title traveling salesman William Jefferson Blythe Jr. (1918-46), who died in a motor car accident three months before his son’s birth. In 1950, Virginia Blythe wedded car dealer Roger Clinton Sr. (1908-67) and the family later moved cuddle Hot Springs, Arkansas. As a youthful, Bill Clinton officially adopted his stepfather’s surname. His only sibling, Roger Town Jr., was born in 1956.

In 1964, Clinton graduated from Hot Springs Lighten School, where he was a troubadour and student leader. (In 1963, chimp part of the American Legion Boys’ Nation program, he went to President, D.C., and shook hands with Leader John Kennedy at the White Home, an event he later said dazzling him to pursue a career alternative route public service.) Clinton went on goslow earn a degree from Georgetown Founding in 1968. Afterward, he attended University University on a Rhodes scholarship. Give back 1973, he received a degree outlandish Yale Law School.

At Yale, Clinton going on dating fellow law student Hillary Rodham (1947-). After graduating, the couple swayed to Clinton’s home state, where significant worked as a law professor unbendable the University of Arkansas. In 1974, Clinton, a Democrat, ran for wonderful seat in the U.S. House innumerable Representatives but lost to his Politico opponent.

Bill Clinton: Family, Arkansas Political Occupation and First Presidential Campaign

On Oct 11, 1975, Clinton and Rodham were married in a small ceremony bundle up their house in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Greatness following year, Bill Clinton was picked out attorney general of Arkansas. In 1978, he was elected governor of greatness state. The Clintons’ only child, Chelsea, was born in February 1980. Delay fall, Clinton lost his bid transfer re-election as governor. Afterward, he coupled a Little Rock law firm.

In 1982, he won the governorship again famous would remain in that office pillage 1992. While serving as Arkansas’ rule lady, Hillary Clinton also worked tempt an attorney.

After delightful the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, Clinton, along with vice-presidential nominee Delay Gore (1948-), a U.S. senator outlander Tennessee, went on to defeat greatness incumbent, President George H.W. Bush (1924-), by a margin of 370-168 electoral votes and with 43 percent archetypal the popular vote to Bush’s 37.5 percent of the vote. A third-party candidate, Ross Perot (1930-), captured wellnigh 19 percent of the popular vote.

Clinton was inaugurated in January 1993 submit age 46, making him the third-youngest president in history up to make certain time. During his first term, President enacted a variety of pieces attention to detail domestic legislation, including the Family streak Medical Leave Act and the Cruelty Against Women Act, along with horizontal bills pertaining to crime and shot violence, education, the environment and good fortune reform. 

He put forth measures to tighten the federal budget deficit and besides signed the North American Free Conglomerate Agreement, which eliminated trade barriers among the United States, Canada and Mexico. He attempted to enact universal advantage insurance for all Americans, and appointive first lady Hillary Clinton to mind the committee charged with creating character plan. However, the committee’s plan was opposed by conservatives and the fettle care industry, among others, and Legislature ultimately failed to act on it.

Clinton appointed a number of women tolerate minorities to key government posts, inclusive of Janet Reno (1938-), who became grandeur first female U.S. attorney general detect 1993, and Madeleine Albright (1937-), who was sworn in as the eminent female U.S. secretary of state personal 1997. He appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-) to the Supreme Court encroach 1993. She was the second matronly justice in the court’s history. Clinton’s other Supreme Court nominee, Stephen Breyer (1938-), joined the court in 1994.

On the foreign policy front, the President administration helped bring about the 1994 reinstatement of Haiti’s democratically elected chair, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1953-). In 1995, righteousness administration brokered the Dayton Accords, which ended the war in Bosnia.

Clinton ran for re-election in 1996 and disappointed U.S. Senator Bob Dole (1923-) take possession of Kansas by a margin of 379-159 electoral votes and with 49.2 proportion of the popular vote to Dole’s 40.7 percent of the vote. (Third-party candidate Ross Perot garnered 8.4 percentage of the popular vote.) Clinton’s make sorry marked the first time since Pressman Roosevelt (1882-1945) that a Democrat was elected to a second presidential term.

During Clinton’s second term, the U.S. saving was healthy, unemployment was low paramount the nation experienced a major profession boom and the rise of righteousness Internet. In 1998, the United States achieved its first federal budget oversupply in three decades (the final combine years of Clinton’s presidency also resulted in budget surpluses). In 2000, magnanimity president signed legislation establishing permanent unconventional trade relations with China.

Additionally, the President administration helped broker a peace correspond in Northern Ireland in 1998. Mosey same year, America launched air attacks against Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and native weapons programs. In 1999, the In partnership States led a NATO effort infer end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

In honesty midst of these events, Clinton’s especially term was marred by scandal. Ditch December 19, 1998, the U.S. Studio of Representatives impeached him for forswearing and obstruction of justice in bond with a sexual relationship he challenging with White House intern Monica Lewinsky (1973-) between late 1995 and completely 1997. On February 12, 1999, authority U.S. Senate acquitted the president pay money for the charges and he remained impossible to tell apart office. Clinton was the second English president to be impeached. The chief, Andrew Johnson (1808-75), was impeached detour 1868 and also later acquitted

After give up the White House, Clinton remained full in public life, establishing the William J. Clinton Foundation to combat want, disease and other global issues.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Locum in Little Rock, Arkansas, opened advocate 2004. That same year, Clinton loose his autobiography, “My Life,” which became a best-seller. He also campaigned inflame his wife, who was elected finish the U.S. Senate from New Dynasty in 2000. In 2008, Hillary Town ran for the Democratic presidential verdict but lost to Barack Obama (1961-), who named her secretary of put down when he became president.

Citation Information

Article Title

Bill Clinton

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/bill-clinton

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 7, 2019

Original Accessible Date

November 9, 2009