Bill Clinton: politics, biography, scandal. Bill Clinton President

William Jefferson Clinton - 42nd President of the United States- Born August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. President of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001.

On January 20, 1993, in the person of Bill Clinton, a Democratic Party candidate again entered the White House for the first time since 1980. Aside from President Jimmy Carter's brief interregnum, Democrats have abstained from power for nearly a quarter of a century. It seemed that Clinton's success in the elections would end the neoconservative era of Reagan-Bush and begin a liberal renewal of the state and society. Therefore, high hopes were placed on the 42nd President of the United States.

William Jefferson Blythe IV was born in Hope, Arkansas, in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas triangle. Even before his birth, his father died in an accident, and 4 years later his mother married car dealer Roger Clinton, whose surname his stepson officially adopted at the age of 15. The family belonged to the middle American class. The parents worked, and during the day the servants took care of Bill and his younger half-brother Roger.

My parents' marriage and family life were marred by my stepfather's alcohol problems. Bill Clinton was ambitious and a good student, and throughout his years at school he was consistently one of the best students. Along with this, he was a speaker for the students and the leader of the school jazz orchestra (playing the saxophone is still something of his distinctive feature). Key event his life became a meeting with President John F. Kennedy when, as a delegate of a national youth organization in July 1963, he was honored to shake hands with the president in Washington. By his own admission, this visit to the White House made a deep impression on him and contributed to the decision to become a politician himself.

Although he was a member of the Southern Baptist Church, he attended the prestigious Catholic Georgetown University in Washington. He received a scholarship that allowed him to study from 1968 to 1970 at Oxford. After graduating from Yale Law School, where he met his future wife Hilary Rodham, Clinton returned to Arkansas. His extraordinary energy - he financed his studies himself while working three part-time jobs - and his outstanding intellectual abilities became the basis of a brilliant political career.

After a short teaching career in law school from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Clinton actively entered politics in 1974. In Arkansas's Third District, he ran for a Democratic congressional seat but was defeated. The victory of the Republican rival in this position was insignificant, so the political establishment in Arkansas turned its attention to the “wunderkind” Clinton. In 1976, Clinton won the election for Secretary of Justice of Arkansas, and in 1978 he successfully ran for governor. At the age of 32, he became the youngest governor in the history of the United States.

Arkansas was one of the poorest federal states in the United States. In 1975, it ranked second to last behind Mississippi in income statistics; in 1991, the state moved up two places to 47th; the growth rate was 4.1%. This result of Clinton's 11-year rule, at first glance, is not very impressive, but in view of the state's major structural problems, it should not be underestimated. Clinton pursued business-friendly policies to attract investment and thus create or secure jobs. He considered education policy to be his main task. Overcoming stubborn resistance, he achieved the publication of an extensive reform program, thanks to which Arkansas began to allocate more funds per capita for education than most other states.

When Clinton announced his candidacy for the presidency on October 3, 1991, he still had little prominence at the federal political level. He had already made a name for himself as one of the most important representatives of the New Democrats, that is, a predominantly Southern group within the Democratic Party that, in contrast to liberal orthodoxy, emphasized efficiency-oriented pragmatism in order to win back middle-class voters. and white workers who switched to the Republicans in the 1980s (the so-called “Reagan Democrats”). The “forgotten” middle class, to whom he promised tax relief in the future, also constituted the most important target group of Clinton’s election strategy. Memorable saying: “Fool, it’s all about the economy!” - became the most popular slogan of the campaign, along with numerous socio-political tasks, which brought to the center, first of all, the economic demands of the future. Accordingly, after the end of the Cold War, Clinton took foreign policy, to which Ronald Reagan and George Bush gave priority and subordinate importance. He believed that the trading nation of the United States would be able in the future to carry out its global tasks only on the basis of a powerful and competitive national economy. In the face of an economic downturn, with rising numbers of unemployed and falling real wages, the appeal fell on fertile ground and helped Clinton unexpectedly defeat the supposedly invincible George W. Bush after winning the Gulf War. At the same time, candidate Ross Perot, a non-partisan entrepreneur who was able to chalk up almost a fifth of the votes, brought him a clear benefit. That neither Clinton (43%) nor Bush (38%) achieved an outright majority was a symptom of Americans' growing dissatisfaction with the policies of both parties.

The successful election campaign, however, was overshadowed by doubts about Clinton's sincerity and strength of character, which still accompanies his presidency. Conduct during the Vietnam War, which saved him from being drafted military service, an unconvincing admission that as a student he smoked marijuana, but did not inhale, and besides, his extramarital affair sex life, in which he seemed to imitate his great idol John F. Kennedy, was widely discussed by the sensation-hungry press and the often sanctimonious public. The prosecution of allegations of sexual harassment during his governorship and the investigation into his role in a shady real estate deal that also implicated Hillary Rodham Clinton have taken a significant toll on the president's moral authority, although the evidence in both cases is questionable. the validity of the charges brought.

Ronald Reagan left heavy inheritance, which included, among other things, the highest government debt in US history and an annual government budget deficit of more than $200 billion, with an upward trend. Since the early 1990s, the state budget has been burdened with interest payments of about $200 billion annually. In the face of this threat, the Bush government began to take the first measures to contain gigantic public debts. Clinton, in his State of the Union report on February 17, 1993, declared eliminating the deficit to be the top goal of his presidency. He announced a $140 billion reduction in the federal deficit by 1997 and, after tough negotiations and votes, pushed a five-year budget through the Senate, combining tax increases (mostly on high-income groups) with spending cuts with remarkable persistence began to strengthen the budget. Even if the draft budget, overloaded with many compromises, seemed to some in Congress not radical enough, its publication still represented a significant political success president.

The initially planned energy tax with far-reaching environmental and political assumptions turned out to be unfeasible. Vice President Ale Gore, one of the most prominent environmentalist politicians in his still environmentally carefree country, spoke in favor of such a tax on energy consumption, which was approved in principle by the president. However, it remains only to note that the environmental protection policy of the Clinton administration has not yet lived up to the expectations placed on it.

According to many experts in the field of economics, the fiscal and political premises of the Clinton government significantly influenced the economic recovery of the American economy. After three recessionary years, the US economy has again achieved growth rates of 2 to 3% since 1993. The upward trend is also evident in the form of a low inflation index, the creation of numerous new jobs and a declining number of unemployed. Real incomes, however, remain well below the levels of the early 1980s.

The main domestic policy item on Clinton's agenda was fundamental health care reform through the introduction of universal health insurance. First of all, the rapidly increasing costs in health care, the share of which in the state budget from 1965 to 1992 increased from 2.6 to 16%, had to be controlled. The President entrusted his wife with leadership of the White House task force responsible for health care reform, giving her the most important and influential function that the “First Lady” has ever officially carried out. Thus, Hillary Clinton, who has a successful career as a lawyer behind her and has been active in the field of education and social policy for many years, has finally gone beyond the mandatory role of a “wife on his side,” especially since Clinton, still in her During the election campaign, he emphasized that she would belong to the circle of his closest and most important advisers. The project of the century to radically reform health care, as one might expect, ran into numerous obstacles, which primarily concerned the employer's demand for employer participation in costs. That Clinton and his wife pushed for global reform at a time when it had long been clear that the majority in Congress would favor only isolated changes to the health care system was a grave political mistake. The reform could not be approved before the congressional elections in the fall of 1994, and after the dramatic defeat of the Democrats in the midterm elections, the prospect of implementing the concept promoted by Clinton during his tenure as president was reduced to zero.

Clinton's anti-crime law, which was passed at the end of August 1994, was destined for greater success. In view of the ever-increasing crime rate, especially in large cities, the package of laws as a whole was considered urgently needed, although its individual components gave rise to strong controversy. They included spending $30.2 billion to hire 100,000 new police officers, expand prisons and develop government programs such as a ban on 19 types of semi-automatic weapons, which the nation's Rifle Army has bitterly fought against. association. Third-time offenders should automatically receive life in prison (once they are sentenced in federal court), and teenagers over 13 years of age for certain crimes should not be tried under juvenile law, but under common criminal law. While governor of Arkansas, Clinton confirmed several death sentences and embraced traditionally Republican territory by endorsing the “tough” homeland security stance of New Democrats.

The president’s still open domestic political reform projects include a number of socio-political measures, especially the restructuring of the social security system, the investment program to create new jobs (the first draft budget included only a small article for this), reform financing the election campaign and creating a national information network, the so-called communication superhighway.

On the international stage, Bill Clinton almost defiantly abandoned the pronounced personal presence characteristic of his Republican predecessor, thereby emphasizing the primacy of domestic politics. His intention, like a “laser beam,” to concentrate on the economic problems of the United States is clearly reflected in foreign policy, since its center of gravity has clearly shifted from security policy to foreign economic policy. Since the American economy can expand only to a limited extent without the growth of the world economy, free world trade must be strengthened and at the same time the conditions of competition for American products must improve. Both the ratification by Congress in November 1993 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), begun under the Bush administration, and the timely completion of the Uruguay Round of GATT in the following month are consistent with this goal. At the same time, especially the ratification of the North American Agreement should be assessed as a personal success for the president, because for this it was necessary to overcome significant protectionist resistance in Congress and in his own party.

Indicative of the Clinton administration's more assertive foreign economic policy is the increasing pressure on Japan to force the long-requested opening of its market to American goods and thereby help eliminate its chronically negative trade balance. At the Asia-Pacific Nations Summit in Seattle in November 1993, the President expressed his view that this economic space benefits in terms of security from the military presence and leading regional role of the United States. Comrade, although the United States will not have a corresponding share in the resulting economic prosperity. Also in relations with the states of the European Union, there is a desire of the Clinton administration to achieve a balanced balance between responsibility for security and economic power. What fits into this picture is that Clinton spoke in favor of admitting the economic “superpowers” ​​Germany and Japan to the UN Security Council.

The emerging strategic turn in American foreign policy boils down to the formula of “leadership through selective multinational cooperation” (Ernst-Otto Champil). Without abandoning the leading role and international political responsibility of the United States, allies in Europe and Asia should be more actively involved in regional responsibility for peace and stability in order to relieve the United States in the matter of political security and remove it from its role as an omnipresent " world gendarme." American restraint in the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict is as symptomatic as the desired reform of NATO, including its expansion to the east.

The most important areas of American foreign policy include relations with Russia. While Foreign Secretary Warren Christopher has made progress primarily in the Middle East peace process, reaching a historic turning point with the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization at the White House in September 1993, American policy towards relationship with Russia is largely in the hands of Deputy Foreign Secretary Strobe Talbott. The Russian “czar,” a friend of the president at Oxford, steered the U.S. firmly toward supporting Russian President Boris Yeltsin, whom Washington backed after the coup attempt in the fall of 1993 and who was not denied support despite brutal actions against the breakaway Caucasian republic. - the public of Chechnya. The full involvement of Russia in the political consultations of the G7 states at the conference in Naples was aimed, among other things, at strengthening Yeltsin’s personal authority. The urgently needed economic assistance for Russia was rather meager, and in addition, the Senate in 1994 made it dependent on the final withdrawal of Russian soldiers from the Baltic countries.

The Partnership for Peace, which was adopted on January 10, 1994 at the NATO conference in Brussels, ran into strong Russian prejudice against the alliance's eastward expansion. However, during his trip to Europe in July 1994 and later, Clinton repeatedly stated that the accession of the Central and of Eastern Europe joining NATO is not a question of “whether to join”, but only a question of “when” and “how”.

By giving up nuclear weapons to Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, Clinton achieved important partial success in his efforts to prevent the circle from expanding. nuclear powers. After significant tension in relations between Washington and Pyongyang arose in the summer of 1994 due to nuclear ambitions North Korea, the communist country made concessions and promised to “freeze” the nuclear program in the future. However, due to the desire various countries- among them Iran, Iraq and Libya - to their own atomic bomb and other types of weapons of mass destruction, it can be assumed that proliferation control will continue to be one of Clinton's primary tasks in the field of the international situation that has become difficult to monitor.

Fortunately, the President has not had to deal with international crises on a large scale. Both in the events in Somalia and in the attempt to resolve the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he received little applause. Negotiations with Cuba to contain the dramatic increase in the number of refugees in the summer of 1994 were, on the contrary, successful. In Haiti, the Clinton administration managed, with the help of military pressure and diplomatic mediation, to restore President Aristide, who had been overthrown by the putschists, but at the same time, Clinton did not make a convincing impression as a specialist in eliminating the crisis. The American soldiers who landed on the island nation in late September were to be replaced during 1995 by UN peacekeeping troops.

Although Clinton can tout significant positive domestic policy records, he has failed to parlay those successes into personal popularity. In the midterm elections of November 8, 1994, American voters gave the president and the Democratic Party an almost unprecedented rebuff. In both chambers, the Senate and House of Representatives, Republicans achieved a comfortable majority for the first time in 40 years and have now fielded 31 of the 50 governors. Even the southern states, which had always voted Democratic in the majority since the end of the Civil War, sent more Republicans than Democrats to Congress for the first time in 130 years. The long-term consequences of this Republican “conquest” of the southern states for the American party system are impossible to predict.

However, the election results are without a doubt a resounding slap in the face, especially for Bill Clinton. There are a number of reasons for this. The start of the Clinton administration was a complete failure because the president allowed himself to be drawn into a dispute about the possibility of conscripting homosexuals into the American armed forces. Along with numerous turmoil, mistakes in appointments and an often unclear picture of what was happening in the White House, whose chief of staff, Thomas McCarty, one of Clinton's oldest friends, was replaced by budget manager Leon Panetta in June 1994, the already mentioned personal scams of the president turned out to be heavy pledge of the past. The fact that Clinton has so far shown little dignity befitting his office (for example, talking to reporters about his preferred underwear), is of little liking to most Americans, as is his tendency to trivialize himself as president through excessive appearances in media mass media. Combined with this symptomatic uncertainty of style, Clinton's lack of ability to demonstrate decisiveness and strength of leadership caused a crisis of his presidential authority.

The deeper reasons for the collapse of the elections should also not be overlooked. The elections marked an intensification of conservative and religious fundamentalist tendencies in American society. The growing discontent and disillusionment of the white middle class is expressed in resistance to illegal immigration (Case 187 in California) and in criticism of allegedly going too far in support of minorities. Clinton has already tried to soften this dissatisfaction with a promise to ease taxes for the middle class. On many important issues, a strong opposition led by the popular House Speaker Newton Jindrich successfully wrested leadership from the hands of the President. If Clinton wants to be elected in 1996, he must align himself with the ultra-conservatives who currently set the tone among the American public, and make further concessions, difficult for liberal Democrats, to the right-wing tendency of the population. There was much to say that Clinton would go down in history not as a renovator of the United States, but as a benevolent but unlucky transitional president.

The weeks and months following the midterm elections were marked by a feverish campaign in which Gingrich campaigned for his "Treaty with America" ​​initiative. The ten-point program, which provides, among other things, for the consolidation of budget equalization in the constitution and laws to reduce government spending and taxes, contrary to expectations, remained in embryo. The budget equalization amendment to the Constitution, the core of the program, failed in the Senate by one vote short of the required two-thirds majority. Clinton intercepted Gingrich's other legislative initiatives using his veto power.

However, in 1995, hardly anyone dared to predict the triumphant success with which Bill Clinton defeated his Republican rival, Senator Robert Dole of Ohio, in the November 6, 1996 presidential election. Clinton received 49% of the votes cast, 41% of the votes were cast for Dole and 8% for Ross Perot (for a very low participation of 49%). In Congress, the balance of forces remained unchanged, although the Republican majority in the House of Representatives again weakened somewhat.

Clinton's success in one of the most boring campaigns in history American history is explained not only by his politically experienced, but generally colorless rival Dole. To a large extent, the Republicans' tactical mistakes with Gingrich allowed him to unexpectedly quickly go on the offensive. When Republicans rejected the budget bill to force the president to cut Social Security and tax policy, Clinton emerged with great agility from these clutches, slamming Republicans for rolling back social policy and presenting himself as opposed to radical cuts in social sphere. Double closure of part of American federal services in the winter of 1995 - 1996. The American public attributed it not to the president, but to the Republican opposition, which overestimated its powers to carry out reforms just as Clinton overestimated his own mandate in 1993. Since Clinton simultaneously advocated for a balanced budget and tax cuts, the Republicans increasingly moved to the edge of the argumentative spectrum, while the president successfully retained its center. With the economy continuing to boom, Clinton managed to turn things around again in his favor during 1996.

That same year, a scandal involving Clinton's sexual relationship with his subordinate Monica Lewinsky surfaced. The President was accused of perjury under oath. As a result, impeachment proceedings were launched, which were stopped thanks to the work of Clinton's team of lawyers. In 1998, the press found out the details of the scandal and circulated them around the world. As a result, the reputation of the Democratic Party was greatly damaged.

During the Clinton administration, unemployment in the United States fell, foreign debt was reduced, and the United States overtook Japan to become the leader in high technology.

In preparing the material, we used Detlef Felken’s article “The Inward Turn and the Crisis of Authority.”

Name: Bill Clinton (William Jefferson Clinton)

Age: 72 years old

Height: 188

Activity: 42nd President of the USA

Bill Clinton: biography

Bill Clinton is an outstanding American politician, the 42nd President of the United States. Bill Clinton ran as a representative of the Democratic Party and was able to win the presidential race twice. Bill Clinton's presidency: 1993-2001.

William Jefferson Blythe III, who would later become Bill Clinton, was born in August 1946 in Arkansas, in one of the clinics in the city of Hope. The boy's father, traveling salesman William Jefferson Blythe Jr., died tragically in a traffic accident in May 1946.

Raising her son fell entirely on the shoulders of the early widowed Virginia Dell Cassidy. The young mother was forced to leave Bill in the care of her parents and returned to Louisiana. In Shreveport, where she had recently met her husband, Virginia continued her studies to become a nurse anesthetist.

Eldridge and Edith Cassidy - Bill Clinton's grandparents - were small entrepreneurs and ran a small grocery store. The townspeople did not like the Cassidys because they also served the “colored” population. This was probably the first lesson of tolerance and democracy for the little grandson, who later chose the party of this particular political direction.

When my son was 4 years old, my mother got married for the second time. Bill's stepfather, Roger Clinton, was an automobile dealer. In 1953, the family moved to the town of Hot Springs. And 3 years later, Bill had a brother, Roger Clinton. Bill received the same surname when he turned 15.

IN school years Bill Clinton was a model student. In addition to excellent academic performance, he led the school jazz band, in which he himself performed, playing the saxophone. On top of all this, Clinton was an activist and student speaker.

In the summer of 1963, an event occurred that greatly influenced Clinton’s future: he was entrusted with leading a youth delegation that took part in a meeting with the president. This visit to The White house, when the US President himself shook hands with a young blond guy from a simple family, it turned out to be the point from which the countdown of Bill Clinton’s political career began. As Clinton himself later admitted, it was then that he first thought about politics.

The ambitious guy stubbornly moved towards his goal. Although his family belonged to the middle class, due to his stepfather’s problems with alcohol, Bill could not count on help with his studies. He entered the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington and was forced to study in order to receive an increased scholarship. This allowed him to study at Oxford for 2 years, starting in 1968. Clinton later attended Yale Law School. After graduation, the young man returned to Arkansas. This is where it started political biography Bill Clinton.

Policy

Bill Clinton decided to turn his impeccable and brilliant biography of a simple and honest guy from the people, who earned his own education and achieved notable heights, into a launching pad for a future political career.

After a short period of teaching at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the 28-year-old Clinton took his first step into politics. He tried to win a congressional seat in Arkansas' 3rd District as a Democratic candidate. The young, eloquent and outwardly attractive politician (Clinton's height is 188 cm) immediately received quite strong support from voters.

And although the young Democrat lost, his Republican rival was only a few percentage points ahead of him. This became the reason for the close attention of the Arkansas political establishment, which turned to the young and promising “prodigy.”

Two years later, in 1976, Bill Clinton won the election for Attorney General in his state. Another 2 years later, the 32-year-old politician took the post of governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest to hold this position in US history.

When Clinton took office, the only state ranked below Arkansas in income statistics was Mississippi. It cannot be said that after 11 years of the reign of the young governor, Arkansas suddenly became a leader - the rate of income growth was measured at a modest figure of 4.1%. But entrepreneurs noticed a “warming” climate, which contributed to the development of business in the state and the influx of investment, as well as a decrease in unemployment.

Another notable achievement of Governor Bill Clinton is educational programs. The politician was able to “break through” stubborn resistance and carried out an extensive reform program, thanks to which today Arkansas is the state in which the largest funds are allocated per capita for education.

In October 1991, Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for the presidency. At that time, he already had a reputation as the most prominent “new democrat”. On the way to his goal, the young politician “bet” on the middle layer, which in the 80s the Republicans managed to lure into the ranks of their voters. Clinton promised this large segment of society tax cuts and economic pragmatism.

Clinton's campaign rhetoric and promises fell on fertile ground. During the outbreak of the Cold War, the economy was put in second place after politics. Therefore, people's real earnings began to decline, and the number of jobs began to decline sharply.

And although his rival George Bush, who had a “fresh” victory in the Persian Gulf, seemed invincible, the young democrat managed to get ahead. But this victory was not stunning: Bill Clinton received 43% of the vote, ahead of his opponent by only 5%. And if you consider that the non-partisan candidate Ross Perot managed to “pull back” the votes of a fifth of the voters, it becomes clear that Clinton’s victory was largely due to a happy coincidence of circumstances.

The inauguration of the new president took place in January 1993. If we do not take into account the short period of Jimmy Carter’s reign, the protracted pause of the Democrats’ “exclusion from power” amounted to almost a quarter of a century. Clinton put an end to the long neoconservative era of Reagan-Bush.

A liberal renewal of the country was expected from the new, 42nd democratic president. William Jefferson Clinton conveyed to his audience in his speech main idea: announced the coming to power of new young politicians who will replace the old generation and focus on the economy, putting it first.

However, Americans soon noted Bill Clinton's lack of experience in big politics. During the first stage of his presidency, he spent a long and chaotic time forming his team, causing sharp criticism from Republicans. For example, he proposed Zoya Beard, who is under criminal liability for tax evasion, for the position of Prosecutor General. Long time Clinton could not establish constructive interaction with the Republican Party and Congress.

Bill Clinton's lobbying for openly gay men to serve in the military ended in failure. The President had to accept a compromise proposed by the Department of Defense, which had significant differences from Clinton's version.

The initiative initiated by America also turned out to be a failure. peacekeeping operation in Somalia, conducted under the auspices of the UN.

Among the most unpleasant “mistakes” of Bill Clinton during his first presidency is health care reform. It was this that the presidential candidate called a priority task and appointed his wife Hillary as head of the reform committee.

He wanted to achieve health insurance all American citizens had. To do this, a significant part of the costs had to fall on the shoulders of employers and medical manufacturers. Clinton did not calculate the opposition that both the first and second had to him.

As a result, the intended large-scale reforms were narrowed down to minor legislative amendments that Congress agreed to.

And after the defeat of the Democratic Party in the next congressional elections in 1994, support for many of Bill Clinton’s initiatives turned out to be even more elusive.

However, the activities of the 42nd President of the United States were crowned with many achievements in domestic politics. The American economy was growing at a remarkable pace. Unemployment was decreasing.

In foreign policy, Clinton managed to reduce the degree of tension with many countries with which the United States had previously been openly at odds. In Moscow American President gave a lecture to MSU students and received the title of honorary professor at the country's main university.

However, we must not forget that Bill Clinton’s successes in foreign policy are more likely due to the president’s luck, because his period of rule fell during the presidency, which, two years before Clinton’s appointment, announced a policy of disarmament of the USSR and a course of friendship with the United States.

Also, as noted by Strobe Talbot, First Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, Boris Yeltsin agreed with all the US demands at the negotiations, which the Secretary of State associated with the Soviet leader’s penchant for alcoholism, which is why Yeltsin paid more attention to the buffet table at the negotiations than to the content of the meetings.

The next ones in 1996 were calm and even routine: Clinton had a dull competitor, Robert Dole. 49% versus 41 is a good result, although not triumphant.

Bill Clinton's second term was more successful due to his increased experience. The US economy continued to grow. America's foreign debt has decreased significantly. The country has become a leader in the field of information technology (previously Japan was the leader). The collapse of the USSR relieved the United States of tension in this political area, allowing it to direct its forces and resources to the economy.

The fourth stage of NATO expansion took place after the war in Yugoslavia.

After completing his double presidential term, Bill Clinton retreated into the background, actively supporting his own wife, who also began to aspire to the presidency. But in 2008, when she was defeated in the primaries, losing, the couple came out in support of this candidate.

During the 2012 presidential election, Bill and Hillary Clinton also took an active part in the presidential election, re-endorsing Barack Obama.

In addition, in January 2012, Bill Clinton, at the request of the UN Secretary General, undertook to coordinate international assistance to Haitians affected by devastating earthquake.

In 2016, Bill Clinton, now together with Obama, again actively supported his wife Hillary, who also spoke on behalf of the Democratic Party, for the presidency of the United States. The aggressive campaign, in which Hillary acted as an opponent, rallied the spouses.

The elections took place on November 8, 2016. Hillary Clinton, losing almost a hundred electoral votes to Donald Trump. But the paradox of this situation is that if the votes were counted directly based on the popular vote, then Hillary Clinton would have left her competitor far behind. The woman received 65.84 million votes, and Trump only 62.98 million. The gap was almost 3 million votes.

American opinion leaders were called one of the most difficult and controversial, since both candidates did not enjoy much public support and more than once found themselves embroiled in economic or political, as well as ethical scandals. Voting in these presidential elections was not for a candidate, but against his opponent.

Personal life

Bill Clinton met his future wife Hillary Rodham while studying at Yale University. They married in the fall of 1975. For some time, the young couple taught together at the University of Fayetteville.

In February 1980, Hillary Clinton gave birth to her husband only daughter. Today, the Clintons are enjoying the two grandchildren Chelsea gave them. Granddaughter Charlotte was born in 2014, and grandson Aidan in the summer of 2016.

Politicians are sometimes accused of being a bit old-fashioned. So in 2004, information appeared that during his presidency, Bill Clinton himself sent only two emails, and one of them was just a test message containing only the word “text”. At the same time, the archive contains 40 million emails written by employees of the president’s headquarters.

In February of the same year, Bill Clinton's illness became known. He was urgently hospitalized in a New York clinic after complaining of heart pain. Clinton, 63, had stent surgery.

After the operation, Bill Clinton began to adhere to a vegan diet, as well as to promote veganism at all political levels available. Subsequently, Clinton told the press that he believed that it was veganism that saved his life.

Scandals

Bill Clinton's life is filled with numerous scandals, both real and imagined by political opponents for the sake of coveted votes. During Bill Clinton's first election race, as usual, a lot of dirty laundry from the past of the Clintons was brought to light. For example, the Democratic candidate was accused of strange behavior that saved him from being drafted during the Vietnam War.

The press discovered that Bill student years smoked marijuana, to which Clinton joked that he “didn’t inhale.” The candidate's extramarital sex life also raised many questions: the press brought to light an accusation of sexual harassment that was brought to court. There were accusations of real estate fraud in which Hilary Clinton's wife was allegedly involved. And although almost all of the accusations were not convincingly confirmed, they “bite off” several percent of the Democrat’s victory.

But the scandal that broke out in 1998 almost cost Bill Clinton his presidency. Information about the president's intimate relationship with a White House intern was leaked to the press. The young woman shared revelations about an intimate relationship with the head of state, revealing piquant details of what happened in the famous Oval Office.

This scandalous relationship has become a top topic not only in America, but throughout the world. Bill Clinton's already unenviable position was made worse by perjury under oath. Miraculously, the president managed to avoid impeachment, largely thanks to his wife Hillary, who managed to gather her will into a fist and curb her feelings. She demonstrated an iron character and enviable self-control by forgiving her husband. The Clinton-Lewinsky scandal has finally died down. But the reputation of the Democratic Party turned out to be seriously tarnished.

In addition to the sensational story with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton is credited with a long-standing relationship with a black girl from Arkansas who was involved in prostitution. This story surfaced in 2016, right in the midst of the Clinton-Trump election race. A certain black youth named Danny Lee Williams called himself the son of Bill Clinton.

Maybe, external resemblance the young man’s relationship with the former president is just an accident, and his “kinship” with a famous politician is a dirty election trick.

Bill Clinton now

In recent years, the ex-president of the United States continues to be active in public work. Bill Clinton is a member of many not only political but also charitable organizations.

Bill Clinton's name is increasingly popping up in the press in connection with old scandals or sudden revelations, rather than his charitable activities.

In 2017, Bill Clinton was accused of rape and even murder, and his wife was accused of covering up these crimes. But this scandal did not develop: neither a criminal case against the Clintons nor a libel case was opened against the accusing party.

In 2018, the ex-president himself admitted that he helped Shimon Peres in the fight against Netanyahu, thereby interfering in the Israeli elections in 1996.

Awards

• 1998 - Order Good Hope I degree (South Africa)
• 1998 - Order of the White Lion, 1st class on a chain (Czech Republic)
• 1999 - Order of the Turkish Republic
• 1999 - Ellis Island Medal of Honor
• 2001 - Medal of the Ministry of Defense “For Outstanding civil service»
• 2005 - Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album - “My Life”
• 2006 - Philadelphia Medal of Freedom with George W. Bush
• 2006 - Order of Logohu Grand Companion (Papua New Guinea)
• 2006 - Order of the Cross of the Land of Mary, 1st class (Estonia)
• 2008 - “TED Prize” for creating a network of clinics in Rwanda
• 2010 - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named Clinton Person of the Year.
• 2011 - National Order of Honor and Merit, Knight Grand Cross in gold (Haiti)
• 2013 - Presidential Medal with Distinction (Israel)
• 2013 - Order of Victory named after St. George (Georgia)
• 2013 - Presidential Medal of Freedom

40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas January 11 - 12 December Predecessor Frank White Successor Jim Guy Tucker

January 9 - January 19

Predecessor Joe Purcell (acting) Successor Frank White Governor David Pryor
Joe Purcell (acting) Predecessor Jim Guy Tucker Successor Steve Clark Religion baptism Birth August 19(1946-08-19 ) (72 years old)
Hope, Arkansas, USA Birth name William Jefferson Blythe III Father William Jefferson Blythe Jr. [d] Mother Virginia Dell Cassidy [d] Spouse Hillary Rodham Clinton Children daughter: Chelsea Clinton The consignment Democratic Party Education Georgetown University,
University College (Oxford),
Yale Law School Autograph Awards Website William J. Clinton Place of work

• University of Arkansas [d]
• United Nations

Bill Clinton at Wikimedia Commons

early years

William Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. (1918-1946), was a traveling equipment salesman. Her mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy (1923-1994), left school after high school to study as a nurse anesthetist in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she met her future husband, William. In 1943 they married, after which William, who by that time had been drafted into the army, was sent to Egypt: the Second World War was in progress. Completed his service in Italy in December 1945. Returning to his homeland, William decided to move with his wife to Chicago. On May 17, 1946, while driving from Chicago to Hope, William died in a car accident. Virginia was his fourth wife, and Bill was his third child. The father still had two children from his first two marriages, who lived in the families of their mothers: son - Henry Leon, born in 1938. and daughter Sharon Lee born 1941. After the birth of the child, Bill's mother returned to Shreveport to continue her education, and for the first years, little Bill was raised by his grandmother and grandfather, Eldridge and Edith Cassidy. They ran a grocery store. Contrary to the custom common in the USA in those years, they even served the so-called. the “colored” population of the city, causing discontent among other citizens. So Clinton received his first “lessons” in tolerance as a child. When Bill was 4 years old, his mother remarried car dealer Roger Clinton. In 1953, the family moved to the city of Hot Springs, located in the same state of Arkansas, and in 1956 Bill had a brother, Roger. Bill took his stepfather's last name at age 15. At school, Clinton was one of the best students and, in addition, led a jazz band in which he played the saxophone. In July 1963, Bill, as part of a delegation from a national youth organization, took part in a meeting with John Kennedy. Young Bill Clinton personally greeted President John F. Kennedy during a tour of the White House on July 24, 1963.

After leaving school, he studied at Georgetown University in Washington (graduated BA in 1968), and subsequently graduated from University College (Oxford), as well as Yale University. Despite the fact that Bill's family belonged to the middle class by American standards, his parents did not have money to educate their son at a prestigious university. His stepfather suffered from alcoholism, and Bill was forced to take care of himself. He received an increased scholarship and earned his living by his own labor. At Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1973, he met Hillary Rodham, whom he married on October 11, 1975. After graduation, Bill taught briefly at the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville. His wife Hillary Clinton soon followed the example of her husband and began teaching at the same university.

Governor of Arkansas

In 1974, Bill, at the age of 28, ran for Congress in his home state of Arkansas, but lost. In 1976, he was elected Secretary of Justice and Attorney General of Arkansas, and in 1978 he won the gubernatorial election and became the youngest state governor in the history of the country (at 32 years old). By focusing on promoting entrepreneurship and boosting education, Clinton, during his 11 years as governor, significantly increased the income of a state considered one of the most backward in the United States; and his wife Hillary was already showing herself in public life - she was involved in protecting the rights of children and families in Arkansas. In 1980, their daughter Chelsea was born. Governor Clinton considered one of his most important tasks to be the availability of quality education for all residents of the state, regardless of income and skin color, and Clinton successfully completed this task. In 1986-1987, as chairman of the Governors Association, he promoted his educational ideas to the state level. Since Clinton's administration, Arkansas has been one of the leaders in per capita funding for educational programs.

In the late 1980s, despite gaining a majority in Congress in 1986, the US Democratic Party lost an important part of its electorate - the middle class and white workers. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was one of the leaders of the “southern Democrats” (Democrats are not popular in the southern states), who prioritized not only liberalization, which was crucial in the rise of Arkansas, but also the pragmatism characteristic of Republicans. One of the leading tasks of the “southern democrats” was the return of their original electorate. However, Clinton can be called a conservative Democrat, primarily due to the historical conservatism of Arkansas, he always had to look for mutual language with the Republicans.

Presidential elections

On October 3, 1991, Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. During the election campaign, the emphasis was on the difficult economic state in which the country found itself following 12 years of Republican rule, and in particular George H. W. Bush. Huge national debt, budget deficits, rising unemployment and high inflation allowed Bill Clinton to campaign with the slogan "It's the economy, stupid", ultimately addressed to to the current president Bush. However, due to the victorious war in the Persian Gulf (Operation Desert Storm) and due to the fact that the state of affairs in the economy was not as hopeless as Bill Clinton and his associates tried to prove during the election campaign, a decisive advantage, according to numerous According to public opinion polls, the Democratic candidate did not. And here independent candidate Ross Perot, by the way, also a Texan, came to the aid of the Democrats (it is in his intervention that political scientists see the main reason for Bush’s defeat). As a result, Bill Clinton confidently won, paired with Al Gore, who was running for the post of vice president. It is noteworthy that Clinton managed to emerge victorious even in those states that have always been Republican strongholds. This hasn't happened since John Kennedy.

First term

The apotheosis of the first failures was health care reform - this was one of the most important tasks that Clinton set for himself as President of the United States. By appointing his wife Hillary, also without federal experience, to head the task force on health care reform, and without calculating the political consequences (Clinton sought health insurance for all US citizens and proposed that part of the costs be borne by employers and manufacturers in the medical sector) Bill faced opposition from medical manufacturers and a lack of support in Congress, which was open to amendments but not to widespread reform. And after the defeat of the Democrats in the congressional elections in 1994, the implementation of the reform became impossible and was curtailed. The Clinton government supported worldwide project birth control, which was blocked by the Vatican at the UN. But still, the US economy grew at an impressive pace, the high-tech sector expanded greatly, and unemployment was minimal. Clinton improved relations with many previously hostile countries, and the world was in relative order. In 1995, Bill Clinton gave a lecture in Moscow at Moscow State University. Lomonosov and became an honorary professor at this university. The 1996 elections were boring and routine - no one doubted the winner.

Second term

Clinton's second term was successful in terms of economic development. In 1998, unemployment was 4.5%, and in 2000 - 4.0% of the working population. Inflation remained low - 1.6% (at the end of 1998). However, an intimate relationship with Monica Lewinsky in 1996 became the reason for accusing the president of perjury under oath and the beginning of Clinton's impeachment proceedings (Clinton-Lewinsky Sex Scandal). The scandal erupted in 1998, when details of the relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky were leaked to the press. This story did not significantly lower the rating of the very popular Bill Clinton, but after Al Gore's disappointing defeat by Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election, it turned out that the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal tarnished the reputation of the US Democratic Party much more significantly.

Results of the presidency

The US sharply reduced its external debt, unemployment became insignificant. His administration also lobbied for a test ban. nuclear weapons worldwide. The disappearance of resistance from the USSR made it easier for the US leadership led by Clinton to expand its influence and made it possible to achieve hitherto unimaginable results: the fourth expansion of NATO and the separation of Kosovo and Metohija from Yugoslavia after the NATO War against Yugoslavia in 1999. During the Clinton presidency, the United States significantly reduced the amount of military intervention in other countries compared to the times of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Americans pinned their hopes on Democratic President Clinton as a reformer of the conservative US society; some citizens hoped that Clinton would reduce the influence of religious denominations and resume research in the field of genetics, frozen by the Republicans.

After the presidency

In recent years, Bill Clinton has been active in public work and is a member of various public political and charitable organizations, in particular the Trilateral Commission. After losing his wife Hillary Clinton in the primaries in 2008, he actively supported Barack Obama. In the same year, he was awarded the TED Prize for creating a network of clinics in Rwanda. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, Clinton visited the Republic of Haiti several times to provide assistance to the victims. February 3, 2010 General Secretary UN Ban Ki-moon asked Clinton to take charge of coordinating international aid for the Haitians.

Clinton was actively involved in Barack Obama's campaign during the 2012 presidential election.

Health status

On February 11, 2010, Bill Clinton was urgently hospitalized in a New York hospital with a complaint of heart pain. The 63-year-old politician underwent stenting surgery. After this, Clinton became a vegan for health reasons. In 2012, he stated that a vegan diet saved his life. In December 2010, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named Clinton their Person of the Year. He received this honor for "using his influence, charm and eloquence to promote a vegan diet."

Family

Recognition of merit

Awards

American

• Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1999).
• Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service (2001) .
• Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for 2004 - “My Life” (2005).
• Philadelphia Medal of Freedom shared with George H. W. Bush (2006).
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013).

Foreign

• Order of Good Hope, 1st class (South Africa, 1998).
• Order of the White Lion, 1st class on a chain (Czech Republic, 1998).
• Order of the Turkish Republic (Türkiye, 1999).
• Gold Medal of Freedom(Kosovo, 2004).
• Order of Logohu Grand Companion degree (Papua New Guinea, 2006).
• Order of the Cross of the Land of Mary, 1st class (Estonia, 2006).
• National Order of Honor and Merit, Knight Grand Cross in gold (Haiti, 2011).
• Presidential Medal with honors (Israel, 2013).
• Order of Victory named after St. George (Georgia, 2013).

Monuments

Books

Notes

1. Encyclopædia Britannica
2. SNAC - 2010.
3. Discogs - 2000.
4. Sokolshchik L. M. Social conservatism in the USA (second half of the XX-XXI centuries). Dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. - Perm, 2016. - P. 102. Access mode: http://lib.urfu.ru/mod/data/view.php?d=51&rid=255292
5. "Unsere Kinder verbrennen in der Sonne" (German)
6. Bill Clinton admitted to New York hospital Lenta.ru (12.02.2010)
7. Bill Clinton underwent successful surgery Lenta.ru (12.02.2010)
8. Lani Muelrath. Bill Clinton on his 66th birthday: "A vegan diet saved my life"(English) . Examiner.com (20 August 2012). Retrieved December 3, 2012. Archived December 6, 2012.
9. PETA announces new vegetarian Bill Clinton as Person of the Year (undefined) . Newsru.com (December 31, 2010). Retrieved April 16, 2011. Archived August 23, 2011.
10. Bill Clinton Named PETA's 2010 Person of the Year(English) . Retrieved December 21, 2010. Archived August 23, 2011.
11. Roger Clinton (undefined) . www.kinopoisk.ru. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
12. President William Jefferson Clinton(English) . National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (English) Russian. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
13. Ellis Island Medal of Honor Ceremony(English) . US Congress (May 8, 1999). Retrieved August 28, 2017.
14. Secretary Cohen presents the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service to President Clinton(English) . US Department of Defense (5 November 2001). Retrieved August 28, 2017.
15. 47th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2004)(English) .

William Jefferson Clinton- American politician.

Bill Clinton was born August 19, 1946 in Hope. He hasn't seen his father since he died in a car accident while Bill's mother was still pregnant with him. At the age of 4, his mother remarried, and he took the surname Clinton from his stepfather. He graduated from school, where he was fond of jazz and played the saxophone in a local band. Then he began studying at Georgetown University and studying international relations. He graduated in 1968 with a bachelor's degree.

Then he became the owner of a Rhodes scholarship and began studying at Oxford. After graduating from Oxford, he returned to America and began studying at Yale University, where he studied law and graduated in 1973. There he met his future wife Hillary. After graduating from university, he returned to his hometown and began working as a teacher at the law school at the local university until 1976.

In 1974, he first tried to run for congressman from his state as a Democrat, but lost. A year later he got married, and 5 years later he and Hillary had a daughter, Chelsea.

In 1976, he became the state's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, where he fought against state monopolies and their influence on government.

In 1978 he became governor of Arkansas, but did not repeat his success in the next elections, made a lot of efforts and in 1982 became governor of the state again. In his second term, he brought in his wife, who became head of the government committee on reform of education standards.

In 1984, Clinton again remained in office, and in 1986 he repeated his success, thus becoming the first state governor to be elected four times in a row. In 1990, he remained in office again and became head of the Democratic Leadership Council. This organization was formed recently and served the idea of ​​​​shifting the party's position to the center of politics. In 1991, Clinton ran for president of the country, and overtook his rival Perot, becoming the 42nd president of the United States.

During his tenure, he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), negotiated the Dayton Peace Accords in the Balkans and the truce between Palestine and Israel. In 1993 he sent troops into Somalia, but failed.

In 1996, he again became president and served a second term.

During this time he became tougher on foreign policy. While in office at this time, he advocated the expansion of NATO to include Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. In 1998, after Iraq refused to cooperate with international weapons inspectors, he issued a decree to launch several air strikes across the country. In 1999, he carried out NATO operations against Yugoslavia, in June of this year he withdrew Yugoslav troops from Kosovo and sent peacekeeping forces UN and NATO.

During his tenure as president, he was involved in a number of scandals. Thus, in 1994 he was involved in the bankruptcy scandal of the Whitewater corporation, and in 1998 in a sex scandal regarding an intimate relationship between him and his intern Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, there was a scandal about the Troopergate case, in which former government employee Paula Jones also accused the president of harassment.

In 2000, he left his post with an appeal to the people with the words of his indicators.

After his presidency, he became the head and founder of a charity foundation to combat AIDS, childhood obesity, global warming and the like. In 2004, he published a book of memoirs, Mo's Life, which became incredibly popular.

In May 2009, Ban Ki-moon appointed him UN special envoy for Haiti. His wife continued to engage in politics, to which Bill responded with help. Hillary rose to become US Secretary of State and even thought about running for president.

Now Clinton is engaged in charity and social activities, visiting countries with public events. In 2005, with George W. Bush, he became the head of a charity campaign to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and in January 2010, with him, he became the head of a fund to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti and donated more than $1 million to the country to rebuild schools, for which received the local National Order of Honor and Merit.

Bill Clinton's achievements:

Twice President of the United States
Under him, the unemployment rate, the country's external debt and the budget deficit decreased

Dates from the biography of Bill Clinton:

August 19, 1946 – born in Hope
1968-1973 – studies at Oxford, Georgetown and Yale
1976 – Arkansas Attorney General
1978-1990 – state governor
1992-2000 – President of the United States
2004 – book My Life
2009 - charity

Interesting Bill Clinton Facts:

Was the third child in the family
He is an honorary professor at Moscow State University.
Monument erected in Kosovo former president
In 2010, he became Person of the Year for his beliefs in veganism.
Actively supported Obama
From his daughter Chelsea has a granddaughter Charlotte

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton is the forty-second President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. His full name William Jefferson Clinton.
Biography of Bill Clinton - early years.
Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas, USA. The father of the future president, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., worked as a traveling salesman selling equipment. His mother is Virginia Dell Cassidy, a nurse and anesthesiologist. His parents got married in 1943; after the wedding, his father was drafted into the army and served in Egypt during the Second World War. When he returned home, he and his wife moved to Chicago. The couple wanted to buy a house in Hope, but on May 17, 1946, on the way from Chicago to Hope, William died in a car accident. Bill Clinton had not yet been born at that time. Bill Clinton has a half-sister and a half-brother on his father's side from his first and second marriages. Virginia, after the birth of her son Bill, returned to Shreveport to continue her studies. In the first years of his life, Bill was raised by his grandparents, Eldridge and Edith Cassidy. When Bill was four years old, his mother got married and new family Bill moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Bill Roger Clinton's stepfather was involved in the car trade. In 1956, Bill Clinton's brother was born into the family. At the age of 15, Bill decided to change his father’s surname – “Blythe” to the surname of his stepfather Clinton, due to the soundlessness of his surname: translated from English, Blythe means decline, degradation.
Bill Clinton was an excellent student at school and led the school jazz band, which is where his love for the saxophone came from. At the age of 17, Bill represented the youth delegation at a meeting of national youth organizations with John F. Kennedy, where he was awarded a handshake by the president himself. This was a turning point in Clinton's biography. From that time on, he decided to engage in social activities and politics.
Bill Clinton alternately studied at Georgetown University in Washington, Oxford, and Yale. There was no money in the family for education; by that time, his stepfather was addicted to alcohol, and Bill got out on his own - he worked three jobs, studied well and received an increased scholarship. At age 29, Bill Clinton married Hillary Clinton.
In 1974, Bill Clinton decided to run for the US Congress from Arkansas. But despite losing the election, Bill Clinton acquired the necessary connections in the political sphere from the Democratic Party. And already in 1976, Bill Clinton was elected to the post of Secretary of Justice and Attorney General of the State of Arkansas, and in 1978, Bill Clinton became the Governor of Arkansas, one of the poorest states in the United States. Bill Clinton became the youngest governor in US history. Bill Clinton served as governor for eleven years. During this time, he did a lot for the state: the level of state income increased, the issue of access to education was resolved, regardless of race and income level of the population.
In 1980, Bill Clinton had a daughter, Chelsea.
Biography of Bill Clinton - his mature years.
Having gained experience as governor of Arkansas, in 1991 Bill Clinton decided to run for President of the United States of America. Bill Klinon represented the Democratic Party. In his election campaign, he focused on the poor economic state of the country: budget deficit, inflation, resulting unemployment and national debt, which led to Republican rule, including criticizing the work of President George W. Bush. As a result, Bill Clinton took the lead and defeated his opponent, Albert Gore, who participated in the election. Clinton outperformed his opponent in states where Republicans have traditionally held the upper hand. There has not been such a furor since John Kennedy. And so, on January 20, 1993, Bill Clinton’s biography was expanded important event- his inauguration. During the inauguration, Bill Clinton announced the directions of his future work: Reducing unemployment, reforming health care, reducing taxation of the middle class and increasing taxes on the rich. But the governor’s existing experience was not enough to big politics, and in the first term of the presidency this had Negative consequences. It took a long time for the presidential apparatus to be formed. So Zoe Beard, who was under investigation for tax evasion, was offered the position of prosecutor general. An unpleasant moment also occurred when Clinton lobbied for homosexuals to serve in the army. In military and foreign policy, the peacekeeping operation in Somalia under UN cover was a failure. And the pinnacle of failure in his political career was health care reform. His wife, Hillary, who had no experience in the political sphere, was appointed to the post of head of the reform committee. Clinton wanted to shift the cost of health insurance for all citizens to employers and drug manufacturers. As a result, the manufacturers, of course, were not happy with this, and as a result, a conflict arose with Congress.
And to top it off, Bill Clinton's biography is famous for the sex scandal associated with intimate relationships with 25-year-old secretary Monica Lewinsky. In connection with this, in 1996, Bill Clinton was accused of perjury under oath, which served as the beginning of the president's impeachment. This scandal lowered the president's ratings. During the reign of Bill Clinton, the country emerged from unemployment, the external debt decreased, the United States took a leading place in the world in terms of high technology development, and expanded its foreign policy influence (NATO expansion).
After his presidency, Bill Clinton has been engaged in public political work and is actively involved in charity work. So Bill Clinton is a member of the Trilateral Commission. In 2008, Bill Clinton came out in support of Barack Obama.
Bill Clinton's biography is full of events related to awards. So in 1998 in the Czech Republic he was awarded the Order of the White Lion, 1st class, on a chain. In 2006, in Papua New Guinea, he was awarded the Order of Lagohu, in South Africa, the Order of Good Hope, 1st class.

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