Bill Clinton

  

William Jefferson Clinton (Bill Clinton) (born on August 19, 1946) is an American politician who was 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was previously Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992, and the Arkansas Attorney General from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, ideologically Clinton was a New Democrat, and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" philosophy of governance.

The 42nd president of the United States who was in office from 1993 to 2001, overseeing a period of economic expansion while signing the North American Free Trade Agreement. After his presidency, he started the William J. Clinton Foundation with the goal of improving health across the globe. BEFORE FAME He endured a tragic and often abusive childhood with an alcoholic step-father. He received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and then went on to study at University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar before attending Yale Law School. TRIVIA He became the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House after word got out about his affair with White House employee Monica Lewinsky. However, he was acquitted by the Senate and thus remained in office. FAMILY LIFE He married Hillary Rodham in 1975 and together they had a daughter named Chelsea in 1980. His wife would go on to have a successful political career of her own. ASSOCIATED WITH him and his predecessor, George H.W. Bush, were fierce competitors in the 1992 presidential campaign, but later developed a close father-son bond while raising money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

 

‘If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.’ This quote by Bill Clinton aptly describes his life and his motive for living. The 42nd President of the United States of America, Clinton is one of the most remarkable politicians who ventured to take the country through the depressive economic condition towards a progressive and prosperous future. A strong supporter of futuristic vision, he brought about progressive policies in the educational and health care sectors and aimed at providing the citizens with better living conditions.
 Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas, and is an alumnus of Georgetown University, where he was a member of Kappa   Psi and Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who served as United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and who was a Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and is the Democrat nominee for United States presidential election, 2016. Both Clintons earned law degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the state's education system, and served as Chair of the National Governors Association.

Clinton was elected President in 1992, defeating incumbent George H. W. Bush. At age 46, Clinton was the third-youngest president, and the first from the Baby Boomer Generation. Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history, and signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement. After failing to pass national health care reform, the Democratic House was ousted when the Republican Party won control of the Congress in 1994, for the first time in 40 years. Two years later, Clinton became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected President twice. Clinton passed Welfare Reform and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, providing health coverage for millions of children.

In 1998, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury before a grand jury and obstruction of justice during a lawsuit against him, both related to a scandal involving White House (and later Department of Defense) employee Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in 1999, and served his complete term of office. The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000, the last three years of Clinton's presidency. In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U.S. military intervention in the Bosnia and Kosovo wars, signed the Iraq Liberation Act in opposition to Saddam Hussein, and participated in the 2000 Camp David Summit to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. President since World War II. Since then, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. Clinton created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes, such as the prevention of AIDS and global warming. In 2004, Clinton published his autobiography My Life. Clinton has remained active in politics by campaigning for Democratic candidates, including his wife's campaigns for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, and Osama’s Presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

He briefly considered dedicating his life to music, but as he noted in his autobiography My Life:

“Sometime in my sixteenth year, I decided I wanted to be in public life as an elected official. I loved music and thought I could be very good, but I knew I would never be John Coltrane or Stan Getz. I was interested in medicine and thought I could be a fine doctor, but I knew I would never be Michael DeBakey. But I knew I could be great in public service”.

During his presidency, Clinton advocated for a wide variety of legislation and programs, much of which was enacted into law or was implemented by the executive branch. His policies, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform, have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance. On budgetary matters his policy of fiscal conservatism helped to reduce deficits. Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. Bill Clinton continues to be active in public life, giving speeches, fundraising, and founding charitable organizations. Clinton has spoken in prime time at every Democratic National Convention since 1988. Robert Reich has suggested that Clinton is in a state of "permanent election", due to the impeachment proceedings during his presidency and his continuing support in the campaigns of his wife Hillary Clinton.

Various colleges and universities have awarded Clinton honorary degrees, including Doctorate of Law degrees and Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. He is an Honorary Fellow of University College, Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Schools have been named for Clinton, and statues have been built to pay him homage. U.S. states where he has been honored include Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and New York. In 2011, President Michel Martially of Haiti awarded Clinton with the National Order of Honor and Merit to the rank of Grand Cross "for his various initiatives in Haiti and especially his high contribution to the reconstruction of the country after the earthquake of January 12, 2010." Clinton declared at the ceremony that "...in the United States of America, I really don't believe former American presidents need awards anymore, but I am very honored by this one, I love Haiti, and I believe in its promise.”

U.S. President Barack Obama awarded Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 20, 2013.