Bill Clinton is an American politician and public figure who wrote his name in history as the 42nd President of the United States. He held this post from January 1993 to January 2001. Clinton’s presidency was marked by successes in foreign policy, economics, the social sphere, as well as high-profile scandals related to allegations of corruption and inappropriate relations with trainee Monica Lewinsky.
Biography: childhood, youth, education
The full name of the 42nd American President is William Jefferson Blythe III. He was named after his father, who died in a car accident shortly before his birth. Bill was born on August 19, 1946. This happened in Hope, Arkansas, where the parents of his mother, Virginia Cassidy, lived. It is worth noting that for Bill's father, this marriage was the fourth, and in previous families two children had already been raised - a son and a daughter.
After the tragic death of her husband, Virginia Cassidy left a small son with her parents to continue her education. She studied in Louisiana as an anesthetist nurse. Bill's grandparents were the owners of the grocery store. Although racial prejudices still remained strong in the USA in those days, the Cassidy couple, neglecting them, served the “colored” population of the city. Biographers believe that with the example of older relatives, the future president studied tolerance from early childhood.
In 1950 there was a reunion of the mother with her son. The reason was the repeated marriage of Virginia with Roger Clinton. Bill's stepfather was selling cars. In 1956, the couple gave birth to a son, Roger Jr. At the age of 15, Bill received the surname of his stepfather and also became Clinton. The atmosphere in the family was far from favorable. Roger Sr. abused alcohol, was addicted to gambling and raised his hand to his wife.
Nevertheless, Bill did well at school, played the saxophone in the school jazz band. In 1962, he was entrusted with representing the state of Arkansas at the congress of the American Legion youth organization. There, during a tour of the White House, the young man had the honor to shake hands with President John F. Kennedy. From that moment, Clinton began to think about a political career.
Despite belonging to the middle class, the family could not pay for Bill's education. He worked at several jobs, managing to study brilliantly and receive an increased scholarship for his successes. Clinton was educated in several educational institutions:
- E. Walsh School of Diplomatic Service at Georgetown University, Washington (1968);
- University College (Oxford) (1968-1970);
- Yale School of Law - Yale Law School (1970-1973).
Political career
While studying in Washington, Clinton worked in the apparatus of the politician William Fulbright. He was an active participant in the youth movement, which opposed the war in Vietnam. Later, political opponents repeatedly reproached him for dodging the draft. The next political experience for Clinton was the participation in the 1972 election campaign of presidential candidate George McGovern.
After graduating from Yale, Bill took up teaching at the Law School of the University of Arkansas, where he worked until 1976. He first declared himself in the political field in 1974, when he ran for the US Congress from Arkansas. Clinton was a Democratic candidate. He lost his first election to a Republican rival.
In 1976, he took the post of Attorney General of Arkansas, and two years later he confidently won the gubernatorial election. At 32, Clinton became the youngest governor in the United States. True, in 1980, he was unable to be re-elected for the next term and worked for two years in a law firm.
In 1983, for the first time in state history, Clinton returned to governorship after a defeat. He occupied him until 1992. The young politician was able to improve the welfare of the state, directed his activities to address the problems of health, education, environment, employment, taxation. In 1986-87, he served as Chairman of the National Association of US Governors, which allowed him to enter the state political arena.
Presidency
In the summer of 1992, at the Democratic Party Congress in New York, Clinton was elected a candidate for president of the United States. In November of that year, he defeated Republican George W. Bush. In 1996, he managed to repeat his success and again take the presidency.
For eight years, at the head of state, Clinton has provided economic growth, reduced unemployment and the country's external debt. For the first time in 30 years, the US budget was implemented with a surplus. Despite the fact that since 1994 the majority in the Congress belonged to the Republicans, the president paid much attention to the reform of the social sphere, the fight against crime, and the strengthening of environmental standards.
In foreign policy, Clinton moved toward reducing US military intervention in other countries, while maintaining the role of America as a mediator in resolving international conflicts. The dispute with North Korea was successfully settled, democratic rule in Haiti was restored, and the threat of an Iraq attack on Kuwait was neutralized. In 1993, with US assistance, peace agreements were signed between Israel and Palestine, Israel and Jordan. In 1995, the Bosnian crisis ended with a peace agreement in exchange for the assistance of NATO peacekeeping forces. The NATO organization itself, no longer meeting the resistance of the USSR, continued its successful expansion to the east. In 1999, the United States took part in the bombing of Yugoslavia.
Of course, inside the country, not all Clinton’s foreign policy steps were approved, but any complaints subsided against the background of a stable economic situation and an increase in the well-being of the population.
At the end of his second term, Clinton fell into a sex scandal over the inappropriate relationship between the head of state and White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Rumors of the president’s many love affairs have been around for a long time, but Clinton calmly denied any allegations. When under a load of incontrovertible evidence, he was forced to confess to adultery, he was accused of perjury under oath and abuse of power. An impeachment procedure was launched against the president, however, by a Senate decision in 1999, all charges were dropped from Clinton.
Personal life
Bill Clinton met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, while studying at Yale. They married on October 11, 1975, and on February 27, 1980, their only daughter, Chelsea Victoria, was born.
Chelsea Clinton has a bachelor's degree in history from Stanford University and a master's degree in medicine from Columbia University. She is married to banker Mark Mezvinsky, has a daughter Charlotte (2014) and a son Aidan (2016).
Following the example of her husband, Hillary Clinton also built a fairly successful political career. She served as Senator from New York State, US Secretary of State. In 2016, she was a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party and only lost a little to Donald Trump.
Clinton family life was accompanied by rumors of Bill's endless adultery and Hillary's accusations of domestic violence against her husband. However, the couple managed to overcome all differences, preserving their marriage and supporting each other in the political arena.
