Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)

Who Is He?: Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. In Chicago he organized job training programs and voter registration drives. He also worked on civil rights issues and taught at the University of Chicago Law School before his election to the Illinois Senate in 1996. Senator Obama is widely known for his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and his best-selling biography, Dreams of My Father.

International Experience: As a child, Obama lived four years in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Obama has visited many spots around the world vital to U.S. interests including Russia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Israel among others. His most high profile trip was an August 2006 visit to Africa where he brought his family to his father's birthplace in Kenya.

Foreign Policy Positions: Senator Obama opposed the war in Iraq. He advocates a regional conference involving Syria and Iran as one part of an ultimate Iraq solution. He has partnered with Republican Senator Richard Lugar in efforts to fight proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Obama has also spoken out on the importance of energy independence and the need for U.S. leadership in dealing with global climate change.

For the last Congressional term, Citizens for Global Solutions gave Senator Obama an A+ rating on his foreign policy positions.

Barack Obama's Foreign Policy Statements:

• Remarks the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, April 2007
• A Way Forward in Iraq, November 2006
• Energy Independence and the Safety of Our Planet , April 2006
• America's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Policy , May 2005

Other Links:

• Hope Fund
• Obama 2008 site
• Candidate Profile, from the About Guide to U.S. Liberal Politics
• Candidate Profile, from the About Guide to Terrorism Issues
• No Time To Go Wobbly, Barack, from the Washington Monthly

The Competition: Explore the foreign policy background of all major 2008 presidential candidates.