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Hillary Clinton
Clinton speaking at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, during her 2016 presidential campaign
Clinton in 2016
67th United States Secretary of State
In office
January 21, 2009 – February 1, 2013
President Barack Obama
Deputy
Preceded by Condoleezza Rice
Succeeded by John Kerry
United States Senator
from New York
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 21, 2009
Preceded by Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Succeeded by Kirsten Gillibrand
First Lady of the United States
In role
January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Barbara Bush
Succeeded by Laura Bush
First Lady of Arkansas
In role
January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992
Governor Bill Clinton
Preceded by Gay Daniels White
Succeeded by Betty Tucker
In role
January 9, 1979 – January 19, 1981
Governor Bill Clinton
Preceded by Barbara Pryor
Succeeded by Gay Daniels White
11th Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast
Assumed office
January 2, 2020
President Ian Greer
Preceded by Thomas J. Moran
Personal details
Born
Hillary Diane Rodham

(1947-10-26) October 26, 1947 (age 76)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Democratic (1968–present)
Other political
affiliations
Republican (1965–1968)
Spouse
(m. 1975)
Children Chelsea Clinton
Parents
  • Hugh Rodham
  • Dorothy Howell
Relatives Clinton family
Residences
Education Wellesley College (BA)
Yale University (JD)
Awards List of honors and awards
Signature Cursive signature in ink

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is an American politician. She is married to former President of the United States Bill Clinton. When her husband was President, she had the title of First Lady of the United States. Hillary Clinton was the first former First Lady to be elected to the U.S. Senate, where she served New York from 2001 to 2009. She was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. Clinton was the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. She lost the election to Donald Trump on November 8, 2016. Clinton is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Hillary Diane Rodham was born at Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago. She was raised in Park Ridge, a suburb located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of downtown Chicago. Her parents were Hugh E. Rodham and Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham. She is of Welsh, English, French and French Canadian ancestry. Hillary grew up with two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony.

She studied at Maine East High School and Maine South High School. She finished high school in 1965 and enrolled at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

In 1969, Rodham entered Yale Law School. She received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Yale in 1973. Then, she began a year of post-graduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center.

First Lady of the United States (1993-2001)

Bill-hillary-inside
Hillary and Bill Clinton at the White House in 1993

When she was First Lady, she tried to change the health care system. Some people didn't like it when the planning meetings were kept secret from the public. In the end, too many people did not want the changes that she wanted.

While she was First Lady, her husband, President Clinton, was accused of lying to the court during a deposition (A deposition is a time before the trial when a witness or defendant is asked questions under oath.) He had been doing something he was not supposed to do and did not tell the truth about it. This was a difficult time in Hillary's marriage.

Senate (2001-2009)

When she decided that she wanted to be a senator, she chose New York even though she never lived there. Some accused her of "carpetbagging" because of this. She went on to win the election and won a second term in 2006.

When the war between the United States-led coalition and Iraq was about to start, she voted in favor of the war, which, as of 2015, she had said she regrets doing.

2008 presidential campaign

2008 Democratic Primaries Delegate Vote
State-by-state popular votes in the Democratic primaries and caucuses, shaded by percentage won: Obama in purple, Clinton in green. (Popular vote winners and delegate winners differed in New Hampshire, Nevada, Missouri, Texas, and Guam.)

Hillary Clinton had raised more money than anybody else in the 2008 Presidential campaign, but later had big money problems for her campaign by May 7, 2008. She lost the party nomination to Barack Obama, but she campaigned for Obama after this.

United States Secretary of State (2009-2013)

Hillary Clinton sworn in as SecState 1-21-09 clinton-SIC-1.21.09 600 1
Clinton being sworn in as United States Secretary of State, January 2009

In mid-November 2008, Obama and Clinton talked about whether she could be the next U.S. Secretary of State in his presidency. On November 21, some reports said Hillary Clinton had accepted his offer.

During her term as Secretary of State, Clinton used her position to bring more attention to women's rights and human rights. She traveled the world more than any other U.S. Secretary of State to that point. She encouraged the use of social media to share the country's positions.

Clinton did not want to serve a second term as secretary. Once Barack Obama won his re-election, he announced that John Kerry would succeed Clinton as secretary. Clinton left office on February 1, 2013.

2016 presidential campaign

In 2016, Clinton became the first woman in the History of the United States to be a major party presidential candidate. In the polls, Clinton kept her lead for the nomination although she faced several challenges from Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton won the popular vote 48% to 46%; however she lost the general election to Donald Trump winning 227 of the electoral college to Trump's 304.

After the 2016 election

In April 2017, Clinton said she would not seek public office again. In October 2018, she received an Honorary Degree from Queen's University Belfast. She became chancellor of the university on January 2, 2020.

In January 2023, Columbia University announced that Clinton would join the university as professor of practice at the School of International and Public Affairs and as a presidential fellow at Columbia World Projects.

Personal life

While working as a faculty member at the Law School of the University of Arkansas, she married Bill Clinton on October 11, 1975. He was also working as a faculty member at the same university. Both knew each other and were classmates at the Yale Law School. Their only child is their daughter Chelsea Clinton, born on February 27, 1980.

Hillary Clinton quotes

  • "...so much of what happens in life is out of your control, but how you respond to it is in your control."
  • "Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in."
  • "Every moment wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward."
  • "Fear is always with us, but we just don't have time for it. Not now."

Interesting facts about Hillary Clinton

  • In 1964, when she was about 17, Hillary tried to help the Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater become President of the United States.
  • In 1973, Hillary graduated from Yale University with a Juris Doctor degree, a pre-law degree that is the first step in becoming a lawyer.
  • She worked in the case to impeach President Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.
  • She was First Lady during another impeachment process: her husband, Bill Clinton's impeachment.
  • While her husband was President, Hillary helped to create the 1993 Health Security Act.
  • Hillary was the first spouse of an American President to have their own office in the West Wing of the White House.
  • Under the Obama administration, she helped open more trade between the U.S. and China.
  • While she was Secretary of State, she travelled to 112 different countries.
  • Hillary is a Cubs fan.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hillary Clinton para niños

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