Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44thĀ president of the United StatesĀ from 2009 to 2017. A member of theĀ Democratic Party, he was the firstĀ African-AmericanĀ president. Obama served as aĀ U.S. senatorĀ representingĀ IllinoisĀ from 2005 to 2008 and anĀ Illinois state senatorĀ from 1997 to 2004.