Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton
source
Name	Hillary Clinton
Caption	Official portrait, 2009
Office	67th United States Secretary of State
President	Barack Obama
Term start	January 21, 2009
Term end	February 1, 2013
Office2	United States Senator from New York
Term start2	January 3, 2001
Term end2	January 21, 2009
Predecessor2	Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Successor2	Kirsten Gillibrand
Office3	First Lady of the United States
President3	Bill Clinton
Term start3	January 20, 1993
Term end3	January 20, 2001
Predecessor3	Barbara Bush
Successor3	Laura Bush
Birth name	Hillary Diane Rodham
Birth date	26 October 1947
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Party	Democratic (1968–present)
Otherparty	Republican (before 1968)
Spouse	Bill Clinton, October 11, 1975
Children	Chelsea Clinton
Education	Wellesley College (BA), Yale University (JD)
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink

Hillary Clinton is an American lawyer, diplomat, and former public official who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. A prominent figure in the Democratic Party, she previously served as a United States Senator from New York and as First Lady of the United States during the presidency of her husband, Bill Clinton. She was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election, becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

Early life and education

Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the suburb of Park Ridge. She was educated in the public schools and was influenced by her politically conservative father, Hugh Rodham, and her mother, Dorothy Howell Rodham. As a teenager, she volunteered for the 1964 presidential campaign of Republican Barry Goldwater before her political views shifted. She attended Wellesley College, where she became president of the college government and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1969; her commencement speech gained national attention. She then earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1973, where she met Bill Clinton and worked at the Yale Child Study Center and for the Children's Defense Fund.

Political career

After moving to Arkansas, she married Bill Clinton in 1975 and later served as First Lady of Arkansas during his gubernatorial terms. As First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, she led the failed effort to pass the Clinton health care plan and advocated for the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the Violence Against Women Act. Following the Lewinsky scandal, she publicly supported her husband. In 2000, she was elected as the first female United States Senator from New York, serving on committees including the Senate Armed Services Committee. She voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002 but later became a critic of the George W. Bush administration's conduct of the war. In 2008, she sought the Democratic presidential nomination, conceding to Barack Obama after a protracted primary contest. As his Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, she championed the use of "smart power" and helped orchestrate the international response to the Arab Spring, the 2011 military intervention in Libya, and the Iran sanctions regime.

2016 presidential campaign

Clinton launched her second presidential campaign in April 2015, quickly becoming the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. She secured the nomination after a primary challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Her campaign platform emphasized economic equality, healthcare access, and combating climate change. The general election against Republican nominee Donald Trump was notably contentious, dominated by controversies including the FBI investigation into her use of a private email server while Secretary of State and disclosures from the Democratic National Committee email leak. Despite winning the popular vote by nearly three million ballots, she lost the Electoral College after narrow defeats in key Midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Her loss to Trump was one of the most significant upsets in modern American political history.

Post-government career

Following the 2016 election, Clinton remained active in public life through writing, speaking, and advocacy. She authored the memoir What Happened in 2017, reflecting on her campaign loss. She co-founded Onward Together, a political action organization dedicated to supporting progressive groups and candidates. She has been a vocal critic of the presidency of Donald Trump and has delivered lectures at institutions like Queen's University Belfast and the University of Oxford. In 2019, she launched the podcast You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton. She has also worked with global initiatives such as the Clinton Foundation and continues to be a prominent voice on issues including democracy promotion, women's rights, and public health.

Personal life and public image

Clinton married Bill Clinton in 1975; their only child is Chelsea Clinton. Her public image has been complex and polarizing throughout her career, often scrutinized for her policy positions, perceived ambition, and handling of controversies. She has been the subject of numerous investigations, including those by the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Despite this, she has maintained a base of strong support, particularly among Democratic voters and women, and is widely regarded as a trailblazer for women in politics. Her legacy is intertwined with major events in late 20th and early 21st-century American history, from the Whitewater controversy to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. She is a recipient of numerous honors, including the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award.

Category:Hillary Clinton Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:United States Secretaries of State Category:United States Senators from New York Category:First Ladies of the United States Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees