William Jefferson Clinton (born 19 August 1946) was President of the United States from 20 January 1993 to 20 January 2001, succeeding George H.W. Bush and preceding George W. Bush. Clinton previously served as Governor of Arkansas (D) from 9 January 1979 to 19 January 1981 (succeeding Joe Purcell and preceding Frank D. White) and from 11 January 1983 to 12 December 1992 (succeeding White and preceding Jim Guy Tucker). Clinton, a follower of the centrist Third Way political ideology, deregulated the economy while passing welfare reforms, presiding over the longest peacetime expansion of the US economy. He was impeached by the US Senate in 1998 for lying about an extramarital affair with his secretary Monica Lewinsky, but he was acquitted in 1999, and he served until his second term expired in 2001. Clinton left office with the highest approval rating of any US president since World War II.
Biography[]
Governor of Arkansas[]
A portrait of Clinton as Governor of Arkansas
William Jefferson Blythe III was born in Hope, Arkansas on 19 August 19446. He changed his name to that of his stepfather after his father died, and he rose from poor beginnings to become a student of international relations at Georgetown University, a Rhodes Scholar, a Yale law student, a law professor, Arkansas attorney-general, and five-term Democratic governor of that southern state. He went on to use his position as chairerson of the pragmatic and populist Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of moderate governors and officeholders associated with the American South, to build a presidential movement which carried him to the nomination in 1992. A masterful campaigner, Clinton presented himself as the candidate of the postwar generation which had idolized John F. Kennedy, and he aimed his campaign at suburban and centrist voters (particularly through his conservative positions on crime and welfare). He was elected in a three-way race with 43.2% of the popular vote on a platform predominantly concerned with economic matters and healthcare reform.
President of the United States[]
Clinton's inaugural address
Once in office, Clinton pushed through a series of important legislation, notably the ratification of the NAFTA agreement, as well as the Brady Bill on gun control. His popularity declined during the first two years, largely because of his failure to build coalitions in the US Congress. Eager to please everyone, he was often seen as too indecisive, and he confirmed many of his opponents' wrost nightmares about his liberal views when he tried to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military; when he failed in this endeavor, he added to this the anger of his own liberal supporters. Attempts to relaunch himself through the tough Brady Bill failed amidst continuing allegations of financial misdealing before he became president (the Whitewater controversy), sexual misdemeanors, and administrative ineffectuality.
Clinton lost his Democratic control of both houses on Congress to the Republican Party in the 1994 midterm elections, and was subsequently touted as a lame-duck president. However, true to his image as "the Comeback Kid", within a year he managed to regain popularity, helped by a strong economy. He placed greater emphasis on foreign policy, in which his peaceful intervention to end the dictatorship in Haiti was, perhaps, the greatest initial success. He also played a key role in the Dayton Accords concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the peace between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, as well as the Northern Ireland peace process. Most importantly, he changed tactics in domestic policy, returning to the center ground by adopting many of what twere originally Republican policies. He accepted in principle the need to cut welfare spending, while making a determined stand against the more radical proposals of a US House of Representatives led by Newt Gingrich. In 1998, Clinton was impeached for matters related to an extramarital affair scandal with Monica Lewinsky, but he was acquitted by the US Senate a year later. In 1999, Clinton oversaw the USA's intervention in the Kosovo War, launching a bombing campaign against Serb forces to assist the Kosovan rebels. He left office in 2001 with the highest approval rating of any US president since the end of World War II.
Post-presidency[]
After leaving the presidency, Clinton was involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He founded the Clinton Foundation, which was devoted to causes such as the prevention of AIDS and global warming, and he also created the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund with George W. Bush with the goal of relieving earthquake victims in Haiti. Clinton's wife Hillary Clinton would go on to become Senator from New York, Secretary of State, and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.