“Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I'll be right there with you as a citizen - inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.”

American retired politician

Barack Obama is an American retired politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to hold the office. Before the presidency, Obama represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 2005 to 2008 and served in the Illinois state senate from 1997 to 2004. He is known for his political leadership across state and national office.