Born August 4, 1961 in Hawaii, Barack Obama was a civil rights lawyer before pursuing a political career, first as Illinois State Senator, and finally as the first African-American president in American history. Taking office in 2009 as the 44th president, Obama inherited a global economic recession; two on-going foreign wars; and the lowest international favorability rating for the United States ever. He stepped into office full speed, standing by his campaign motto, “Yes we can.”  Under his guidance, the Obama administration is most credited with passing the Health Care Reform Act, locating and eliminating the FBI’s Most Wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, and ending the war in Iraq.  Obama is also the fourth president to be awarded The Nobel Peace Prize (2009) for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people.