US statesman and 42nd president (19932000), born in Hope, Arkansas, USA. His father, William Blythe, died in a car accident three months before he was born, and he was adopted by his stepfather, Roger Clinton. As a youth, he thrilled to John F Kennedy's promise, especially when he shook Kennedy's hand in the Rose Garden in 1963. He went to Georgetown University and then to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and received what would become a controversial draft deferment during the Vietnam War. He graduated from Yale Law School (1973) and married Hillary Rodham, a fellow Yale law student (1975).
A committed Democrat, he was attorney general of Arkansas (19779), then won the governor's seat in 1978. Not re-elected in 1980, he went through a period of soul-searching and made a comeback in 1982, becoming governor again. He was re-elected in 1984, 1986, and 1990 and was named the most effective by his fellow governors. Overcoming serious charges involving alleged extramarital affairs and questions about his draft deferment, he won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He was accused of waffling in his campaign speeches, but he kept the pressure on incumbent George Bush by focusing on the economic plight of many Americans. He won the three-way presidential race with 43% of the popular vote and 370 out of 525 electoral votes. His inauguration was notable for the participation of rock stars, poets, and the public at large, all of which led many to see his administration as the passing of the torch to a new generation, but he faced an enormous national debt and a country fragmented by social strife.
He was re-elected in 1996. From the outset of his national career, he was dogged by stories of financial improprieties and sexual misconduct. Despite the efforts of two special prosecutors, charges of criminality in his Whitewater real estate investments and other ventures proved groundless. In 1998 his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky came to light and led, along with the sexual harassment charges of Paula Jones, to his impeachment by the House of Representatives in December. A Senate trial followed, and he was acquitted of perjury and of obstruction of justice in February 1999.
Despite the controversies that culminated in his impeachment, Clinton governed from the centre of American politics. His economic policies helped to produce a balanced budget, he joined Republicans in reforming the welfare system and saw a reduction of the crime rate. Sustained prosperity helped to keep his job ratings at a high level during his second term. In foreign policy, Clinton pushed for peace initiatives in Haiti, Ireland, and the Middle East. He maintained the existing policy towards Iraq, and oversaw the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into Eastern Europe. Few major foreign policy crises occurred during his administrations. His historical reputation will depend on how his personal life is viewed in the perspective of his political career. An autobiography, My Life, appeared in 2004.
In 2002 he set up the charitable Clinton Foundation to work on issues including AIDS, poverty, women's empowerment, and religious and racial reconciliation. He was appointed the UN special envoy for tsunami relief in Asia in 2005.
William Jefferson Clinton|
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| 42nd President of the United States | |
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In office January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 |
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| Vice President(s) Bush | |
| Born |
August 19, 1946 (age 60) Hope, Arkansas, USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Hillary Rodham Clinton |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Signature | |
William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. Before his election as President, Clinton served nearly 12 years as the 50th and 52nd Governor of Arkansas. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is the junior United States Senator from New York, where they both reside. however, according to Clinton, his stepfather was a gambler and an alcoholic who regularly abused Clinton's mother and sometimes Clinton's half-brother Roger, Jr.
Bill Clinton as a child went to St. John's Catholic School and Ramble Elementary School.
Clinton received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree from the Edmund A.
Arkansas political career
| Bill Clinton | |
| 50 Governor of Arkansas | |
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Term of office: January 9, 1979 – January 19, 1981 January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992 |
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| Lieutenant Governor: |
Joe Purcell (1979-1981)
Winston Bryant |
|---|---|
| Predecessor: |
Joe Purcell (1st)
Frank D. White (1st) Jim Guy Tucker (2nd) |
| Born: |
August 19, 1946 Hope, Arkansas |
| Political party: | Democrat |
| Profession: | Politician |
| Spouse: | Hillary Rodham Clinton |
In 1974, his first year as a University of Arkansas law professor, Clinton ran for the House of Representatives.
In 1978, Bill Clinton was first elected Governor of Arkansas, the youngest to be elected governor since 1938.
In the 1980 election, Clinton was defeated in his bid for a second term by Republican challenger Frank D.
Clinton's approach mollified conservative criticism during his terms as governor. However, personal and business transactions made by the Clintons during this period became the basis of the Whitewater investigation, which dogged his later presidential Administration.
Campaign for the Democratic Nomination
There was some media speculation in 1987 that Clinton would enter the race for 1988 Democratic presidential nomination after then-New York Governor Mario Cuomo declined to run and Democratic frontrunner Gary Hart bowed out due to revelations about marital infidelity. Often referred to as the "Boy Governor" at the time because of his youthful appearance, Clinton decided to remain as Arkansas Governor and postpone his presidential ambitions until 1992.
In 1992, Clinton was the early favorite of Democratic Party insiders and elected officials for the presidential nomination; In spite of this, Clinton began his 1992 presidential quest on a sour note by finishing near the back of the pack in the Iowa caucus, which was largely uncontested due to the presence of favorite-son Senator Tom Harkin, who was the easy winner. Clinton and his wife Hillary decided to go on 60 Minutes following the Super Bowl to rebut those charges of infidelity, which had started to take their toll, as Clinton had fallen way behind former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas in the New Hampshire polls.
Clinton used his new-found momentum to storm through the Southern primaries, including the big prizes of Florida and Texas, and build up a sizable delegate lead over his opponents in the race for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination. With no major Southern state remaining on the primary calendar, Clinton set his sights on the delegate-rich New York Primary, which was to be his proving ground.
Presidential election
Clinton won the 1992 Presidential election (43.0% of the vote) against Republican George H. Clinton capitalized on Bush's policy switch, repeatedly condemning the President for making a promise he failed to keep.
Presidency, 1993-2001
Clinton's presidency included the longest period of economic growth in America's history. Clinton made cutting the deficit a top priority of his presidency. Clinton was unsuccessful in his attempt at a universal health care reform program, known as the Clinton health care plan.
Investigation and impeachment
The Lewinsky scandal
In 1998, as a result of allegations that he had lied during grand jury testimony regarding his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a young female White House intern, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives (the other being Andrew Johnson. Clinton, like the only other president to be impeached, Andrew Johnson, served the remainder of his term.
Campaign finance and the pardon controversy
The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to influence the domestic policies of the United States, prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fund-raising practices of the administration itself.
President Bill Clinton has been criticized for some of his presidential pardons and other acts of executive clemency. It is common practice for Presidents to grant a number of pardons shortly before leaving office, but Clinton's last day list was more numerous than those of many previous presidents. Most of the controversy surrounded Marc Rich and allegations that Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, accepted payments in return for influencing the president's decision-making regarding the pardons.
Willey and Broaddrick allegations
Two claims of sexual misconduct on the part of Bill Clinton were alleged by Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick, during the Clinton Administration.
Public approval
While Clinton's job approval rating varied over the course of his first term, ranging from a low of 36 percent in mid-1993 to a high of 64 percent in late-1993 and early-1994, his job approval rating consistently ranged from the high 50s to the high 60s in his second term. Clinton's approval rating reached its highest point at 73 percent approval in the aftermath of the impeachment proceedings in 1998 and 1999. While 55 percent thought he "would have something worthwhile to contribute and should remain active in public life", and 47 percent rated him as either outstanding or above average as a president, 68 percent thought he would be remembered for his "involvement in personal scandal" rather than his accomplishments as president, and 58 percent answered "No" to the question "Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?"
In May 2006 a CNN poll comparing Clinton's job performance with that of his successor, George W.
Public image
As the first Baby Boomer president, Clinton was the first president in a half century not shaped by World War II. With his sound-bite-ready dialogue and pioneering use of pop culture in his campaigning, such as playing his saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, Clinton was sometimes described as the "MTV president". Until his inauguration as president, he had earned substantially less money than his wife, and had the smallest net worth of any president in modern history, according to My Life, Clinton's autobiography. Clinton was also very popular among African-Americans and made improving race relations a major theme of his presidency.
Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison in 1998 called Clinton "the first Black president," saying "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas," and, despite his career accomplishments, comparing Clinton's scrutinized sex life to the stereotyping and double standards that blacks typically endure.
Post-presidential career
Public speaking
Like other former American presidents, Clinton has engaged in a career as a public speaker on a variety of issues. He assisted his wife, Hillary Clinton, in her campaign for office as Senator from New York.
Clinton's autobiography, My Life, was released in June 2004.
On July 26, 2004, Clinton spoke for the fifth consecutive time to the Democratic National Convention, using the opportunity to praise candidate John Kerry. Clinton Presidential Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18, 2004. Under rainy skies, Clinton received words of praise from former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. He was also treated to a musical rendition from Bono and The Edge from U2, who expressed their gratitude at Clinton's efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict during his presidency.
On December 9, 2005, speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Clinton publicly criticized the Bush Administration for its handling of emissions control.
Health
On September 9, 2004, Clinton had an episode of angina and was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital. Clinton Foundation
While in Sydney to attend a Global Business Forum, Clinton signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of his presidential foundation with the Australian government to promote HIV/AIDS programs in the Asia-Pacific region.
On May 3, 2005, Clinton announced through the William J. Bush
There had been reported signs of a friendship growing between Clinton and George H.W. After the official unveiling of his White House portrait in June 2004, the Asian Tsunami disaster, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 election, Clinton and Bush met, although the nature of the meetings did not appear to include a reconciliation of political opinions. Bush named Clinton and George H. Five days later, Clinton appeared with Bush on the Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show on Fox in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics."
On August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, Clinton again teamed with George H.
Honors and accolades
In February 2004, Clinton (along with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren) won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the Russian National Orchestra's album Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf.
On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Clinton and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.
In 2005, the University of Arkansas System opened the Clinton School of Public Service on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center.
On May 13, 2006, Clinton was the commencement speaker along with George H.
In Europe, Bill Clinton remains immensely popular, especially in a large part of the Balkans and in Ireland. In Priština, Kosovo, a five-story picture of the former president was permanently engraved into the side of the tallest building in the province as a token of gratitude for Clinton's support during the crisis in Kosovo.
Further reading
Primary sources
Bill Clinton, My Life. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X George Stephanopoulos All Too Human: A Political Education (1998) ISBN 0-316-92919-0Popular books
Peter Baker The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton (2000) ISBN 0-684-86813-X James Bovard Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years (2000) ISBN 0-312-23082-6 Joe Conason and Gene Lyons The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton (2003) ISBN 0-312-27319-3 Elizabeth Drew On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency (1994) ISBN 0-671-87147-1 Nigel Hamilton Bill Clinton: An American Journey (2003) ISBN 0-375-50610-1 John F. Harris The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3 Christopher Hitchens No One Left to Lie to: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton (1999) ISBN 1-85984-736-6 Michael Isikoff Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story (1999) ISBN 0-609-60393-0 Joe Klein The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (2003) ISBN 0-7679-1412-0 David Maraniss First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6 David Maraniss The Clinton Enigma: A Four and a Half Minute Speech Reveals This President's Entire Life (1998) ISBN 0-684-86296-4 Dick Morris with Eileen McGann Because He Could (2004) ISBN 0-06-078415-6 Roger Morris Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America (1996) ISBN 0-89526-302-5 Richard A. Rozell The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government (2000) ISBN 0-87840-777-4 Michael Waldman POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency (2000) ISBN 0-7432-0020-9 Ivory Tower Publishing Company Achievements of the Clinton Administration: the Complete Legislative and Executive (1995)ISBN 0-88032-748-0Academic studies
Cohen; "The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993-99" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. "President Clinton and Character Questions" Presidential Studies Quarterly Vol. "The Evolution of American Grand Strategy and the War on Terrorism: Clinton and Bush Perspectives" White House Studies, Vol. " Stability and Change in President Clinton's Foreign Policy Beliefs, 1993-96" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. ISBN 1-4116-6345-4 Laham, Nicholas, A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance (1996) Lanoue, David J. "Voting in the Glare of the Spotlight: Representatives' Votes on the Impeachment of President Clinton" Polity, Vol. "Policies, Principles, and Polls: Bill Clinton's Third Way Welfare Politics 1992-1996" The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol. The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership Westview Press, 1995 Renshon; "The Polls: The Public's Response to the Clinton Scandals, Part 1: Inconsistent Theories, Contradictory Evidence" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. "The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. "The Clinton Factor: The Effects of Clinton's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election" White House Studies, Vol. 4, 2004Related miscellanea
| Political Offices | ||||
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Preceded by: Jim Guy Tucker |
Attorney General of Arkansas 1977 – 1979 |
Succeeded by: Steve Clark |
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Preceded by: Joe Purcell |
Governor of Arkansas 1979 – 1981 |
Succeeded by: Frank D. White |
Governor of Arkansas 1983 – 1992 |
Succeeded by: Jim Guy Tucker |
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Preceded by: Michael Dukakis |
Democratic Party Presidential candidate 1992 (won), 1996 (won) |
Succeeded by: Al Gore |
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Preceded by: George H. Bush |
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Preceded by: Jacques Chirac |
Chair of the G8 1997 |
Succeeded by: Tony Blair |
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| Other Offices | ||||
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Preceded by: George H. Bush |
United States order of precedence as of 2006 |
Succeeded by: Condoleezza Rice |
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| Washington | GW Bush |
| United States Democratic Party Presidential Nominees |
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| Jackson • Van Buren • Polk • Cass • Pierce • Buchanan • Douglas/Breckinridge(SD), McClellan • Seymour • Greeley • Tilden • Hancock • Cleveland • Bryan • Parker • Bryan • Wilson • Cox • Davis • Smith • Roosevelt • Truman • Stevenson • Kennedy • Johnson • Humphrey • McGovern • Carter • Mondale • Dukakis • Clinton • Gore • Kerry |
| Governors of Arkansas | |
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| J. Conway • Yell • Adams • Drew • Byrd • Roane • E. Conway • Rector • Flanagin • Murphy • Clayton • Hadley • Baxter • Garland • Miller • Churchill • Berry • Hughes • Eagle • Fishback • Clarke • Jones • Davis • Little • Moore • Pindall • Martin • Donaghey • Robinson • Oldham • Futrell • Hays • Brough • McRae • Terral • Martineau • Parnell • Futrell • Bailey • Adkins • Laney • McMath • Cherry • Faubus • Rockefeller • Bumpers • Riley • Pryor • Purcell • Clinton • White • Clinton • Tucker • Huckabee |
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Clinton, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Clinton, William Jefferson (full name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | 42nd President of the United States (1993–2001) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 19 August 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hope, Arkansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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