William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton (born 1946) - American statesman and politician, 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001) from the Democratic Party.
Prior to being elected President, he was elected Governor of Arkansas 5 times.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Bill Clinton, which we will tell about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of Clinton.
Bill Clinton biography
Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946 in Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., was an equipment dealer, and his mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy, was a medic.
Childhood and youth
It so happened that the first tragedy in the biography of Clinton happened before his birth. About 4 months before Bill was born, his father died in a car accident. As a result, the mother of the future president had to take care of the child on her own.
Since Virginia had not yet finished her studies to become a nurse anesthetist, she was forced to live in another city. For this reason, Bill was first raised by his grandparents, who ran a grocery store.
An interesting fact is that despite the racial prejudices that were characteristic of that time, grandparents served all people, regardless of their race. Thus, they caused indignation among their compatriots.
Bill had half-brother and sister - children from the previous 2 marriages of his father. When the boy was 4 years old, his mother remarried to Roger Clinton, who was a car dealer. It is curious that the guy received the same surname only at the age of 15.
By that time, Bill had a brother, Roger. While studying at school, the future head of the United States received high marks in all disciplines. In addition, he led a jazz band where he played the saxophone.
In the summer of 1963, Clinton, as part of a youth delegation, attended a meeting with John F. Kennedy. Moreover, the young man personally greeted the president during an excursion to the White House. According to Clinton, it was then that he wanted to get involved in politics.
After receiving the certificate, the guy entered Georgetown University, which he graduated in 1968. Then he continued his education at Oxford, and later at Yale University.
Although the Clinton family belonged to the middle class, he did not have the funds to educate Bill at a prestigious university. The stepfather was an alcoholic, as a result of which the student had to take care of himself on his own.
Politics
After a short period of teaching at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Bill Clinton decided to run for Congress, but did not get enough votes.
Nevertheless, the young politician managed to attract the attention of voters. A couple of years later, in 1976, Clinton won the Arkansas Justice Minister election. After another 2 years, he was elected governor of this state.
An interesting fact is that 32-year-old Bill turned out to be the youngest governor in American history. In total, he was elected to this position 5 times. Over the years of his rule, the politician has significantly increased the income of the state, which is considered one of the most backward in the state.
Clinton was particularly supportive of entrepreneurship, and also focused on the education system. He strove to ensure that any American, regardless of his skin color and social status, could have access to a quality education. As a result, he still managed to achieve his goal.
In the fall of 1991, Bill Clinton ran for the Democratic presidency. In his campaign program, he promised to improve the economy, reduce unemployment and reduce inflation. This led to the fact that the people believed him and elected him to the post of president.
Clinton's inauguration took place on January 20, 1993. At first, he was unable to form his own team, which caused outrage in society. At the same time, he had a conflict with the Ministry of Defense after he began lobbying for the idea of calling open homosexuals into the army.
The President was forced to accept a compromise option proposed by the Department of Defense, which was significantly different from Clinton's proposal.
In foreign policy, a big setback for Bill was the failure of the peacekeeping operation in Somalia, under the auspices of the UN. Among the most serious "flaws" during the first presidential term is the health care reform.
Bill Clinton strove to provide health insurance for all Americans. But for this, a significant part of the costs fell on the shoulders of entrepreneurs and medical manufacturers. He could not even think about the opposition that both one and the other would have.
All this led to the fact that many of the promised reforms were not implemented to the extent that they were originally planned. And yet Bill has reached certain heights in domestic politics.
The man has made major changes in the economic sector, thanks to which the pace of economic development has increased significantly. The number of jobs has also increased. It is worth noting that in the international arena, the United States has embarked on a course of rapprochement with those states with which it was openly hostile before.
Interestingly, during his visit to Russia, Clinton delivered a lecture at Moscow State University and was even awarded the title of professor of this university.
During his second term as president (1997-2001), Bill continued to develop the economy, achieving a significant reduction in the US external debt. The state became a leader in the field of information technology, overshadowing Japan.
Under Clinton, America has significantly reduced military intervention in other states, compared to the times of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The fourth stage of NATO expansion after the war in Yugoslavia took place.
At the end of his second presidential term, the politician began to support his wife Hillary Clinton, who sought to lead the United States. However, in 2008, the woman lost the primaries to Barack Obama.
In the following years of his biography, Bill Clinton coordinated international assistance to Haitians affected by a major earthquake. He was also a member of various political and charitable organizations.
In 2016, Bill again supported his wife, Hillary, as president of the country. Nevertheless, this time too, Clinton's wife lost the election to Republican Donald Trump.
Scandals
There are many scandalous events in the personal biography of Bill Clinton. During the first pre-election race, journalists discovered facts that in his youth the politician used marijuana, to which he replied with a joke, saying that he "smoked not in a puff."
Also in the media there were articles that Clinton allegedly had many mistresses and participated in real estate fraud. And although many of the accusations were not supported by reliable facts, such stories negatively affected his reputation and, as a result, on the presidential rating.
In 1998, there was, perhaps, one of the most high-profile scandals in Bill's life, which nearly cost him the presidency. Journalists have received information about his intimacy with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The girl admitted that she had a sexual relationship with the president right in his office.
This incident was discussed throughout the world. The situation was aggravated by Bill Clinton's perjury under oath. Nevertheless, he managed to avoid impeachment, and largely thanks to his wife, who publicly stated that she forgives her husband.
In addition to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Clinton was suspected of having an affair with a black prostitute from Arkansas. This story surfaced in 2016, at the height of the Clinton-Trump presidential race. A certain guy named Danny Lee Williams said that he is the son of the former head of the United States. However, it is difficult to say whether this is true.
Personal life
Bill met his wife, Hilary Rodham, in his youth. The couple married in 1975. Curiously, the couple taught at Fayetteville University for some time. In this union, a daughter, Chelsea, was born, who later became a writer.
In early 2010, Bill Clinton was urgently admitted to the clinic with a complaint of heart pain. As a result, he underwent a stenting operation.
An interesting fact is that after this incident, the man became a vegan. In 2012, he admitted that vegan food saved his life. It is worth noting that he is an active promoter of the vegan diet, talking about its benefits for human health.
Bill Clinton today
Now the ex-president is still a member of various charitable organizations. Still, his name is more often associated with old scandals.
In 2017, Bill Clinton was accused of several rapes and even murders, and his wife was accused of covering up these crimes. However, criminal cases were never opened.
The following year, the man openly admitted that he helped Shimon Peres in the fight against Netanyahu, thereby interfering in the Israeli elections in 1996. Clinton has a Twitter page to which more than 12 million people have subscribed.
Clinton Photos
