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William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe, III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton served five terms as the Governor of Arkansas. His wife, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, is currently the junior U.S. Senator from New York.
Generally regarded as a member of the moderate New Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, he headed the centrist Democratic Leadership Council in 1990 and 1991. During his tenure as president, his domestic priorities included efforts to create a universal healthcare system, upgrade education, to restrict handgun sales, to strengthen environmental regulations, to improve race relations, and to protect the jobs of workers during pregnancy or medical emergency. His domestic agenda also included more conservative themes such as reforming welfare programs, expanding the "War on Drugs", and increasing law enforcement funding. Internationally, his priorities included reducing trade barriers, preventing nuclear proliferation, and mediating the Northern Ireland peace process and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
Clinton was the third-youngest president, behind Theodore Roosevelt (the youngest president) and John F. Kennedy (the youngest to be elected president). He was the first baby boomer president.
In 1998, as a result of perjury regarding his personal indiscretions with a young female White House intern (Monica Lewinsky), Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was tried in the Senate and found not guilty of the charges brought against him. Clinton initially denied having any improper relationship with Lewinsky, but later admitted that in fact an improper relationship with Lewinsky had taken place. He apologized to the nation for his actions, agreed to pay a $500,000.00 court fine, settled his sexual harrasment lawsuit with Paula Jones for $800,000.00 and was disbarred from practicing law.
In 1999, through Clinton's and the Congress's efforts, the United States had a projected federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969.
He took a personal interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland and paid three visits there while he was president in order to encourage peace. His involvement was an important element in the peace process which set in motion the disarmament of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) on October 23, 2001.
In 2002, a UPI story stated that documents discovered in Afghanistan showed that al-Qaeda may have plotted to assassinate Clinton toward the end of his term.[3] |
