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\"William Clinton\" redirects here. For other uses, see William Clinton (disambiguation).

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Bill Clinton
$\"Clinton's$ Official portrait, 1993

42nd President of the United States
In office January 20, 1993 \u2013 January 20, 2001
Vice President	Al Gore
Preceded by	George H. W. Bush
Succeeded by	George W. Bush
40th & 42nd Governor of Arkansas
In office January 11, 1983 \u2013 December 12, 1992
Lieutenant	Winston Bryant Jim Guy Tucker
Preceded by	Frank D. White
Succeeded by	Jim Guy Tucker
In office January 9, 1979 \u2013 January 19, 1981
Lieutenant	Joe Purcell
Preceded by	Joe Purcell (acting)
Succeeded by	Frank D. White
50th Attorney General of Arkansas
In office January 3, 1977 \u2013 January 9, 1979
Governor	David Pryor Joe Purcell (acting)
Preceded by	Jim Guy Tucker
Succeeded by	Steve Clark
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Personal details
Born	William Jefferson Blythe III (1946-08-19) August 19, 1946 (age 78) Hope, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	\n Hillary Rodham (m. 1975)
Children	Chelsea Clinton
Parents	William Jefferson Blythe Jr. Virginia Cassidy
Relatives	Clinton family
Alma mater	Georgetown University (BS) Yale University (JD)
Awards	Full list
Signature	$\"William$
\n \n \n Bill Clinton's voice \n \n Clinton speaking on U.S. decision to join NATO forces in military airstrikes against Yugoslavia Recorded March 24, 1999 \n
\n Other offices \n 1986\u20131987: Chair of the National Governors Association\n 1985\u20131986: Vice Chair of the National Governors Association\n \n

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Personal

Eponyms
Family
Nonprofit organizations\n
Honors
Public image
Sexual assault and misconduct allegations
Bibliography
Post-presidency

40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas

Governorships
Troopergate
Elections\n
- 1978
- 1980
- 1982
- 1984
- 1986
- 1990

42nd President of the United States

Tenure

Executive actions\n
- pardons
Foreign trips
1995\u20131996 shutdown
Controversies\n
- Whitewater
- White House travel office
- pardon
Republican Revolution
Operation Infinite Reach
Bombings\n
- Iraq
- Yugoslavia
Impeachment\n
- efforts
- Clinton\u2013Lewinsky scandal
- House inquiry
- Senate trial

Policies

Economic\n
Gun control
Environment
Foreign policy\n
- Clinton Doctrine
- NAFTA
- Dayton Agreement
Social issues\n
- 1994 Crime Bill
- DOMA
- One America Initiative

Appointments

Presidential campaigns

1992\n
- primaries
- convention
- debates
- election
1996\n
- primaries
- convention
- debates
- election

$\"Seal$ \n

William Jefferson Clinton (n\u00e9 Blythe; born August 19, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the attorney general of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979 and as the governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992. Clinton, whose policies reflected a centrist \"Third Way\" political philosophy, became known as a New Democrat.\n

Born and raised in Arkansas, Clinton graduated from Georgetown University in 1968, and later from Yale Law School, where he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham. After graduating from law school, Clinton returned to Arkansas and won election as state attorney general, followed by two non-consecutive tenures as Arkansas governor. As governor, he overhauled the state's education system and served as chairman of the National Governors Association. Clinton was elected president in the 1992 election, defeating the incumbent Republican Party president George H. W. Bush, and the independent businessman Ross Perot. He became the first president to be born in the Baby Boomer generation.\n

Clinton presided over the second longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history.^[1] He signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act but failed to pass his plan for national health care reform. Starting in the mid-1990s, he began an ideological evolution as he became much more conservative in his domestic policy, advocating for and signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, the State Children's Health Insurance Program and financial deregulation measures. He appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court. In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U.S. military intervention in the Bosnian and Kosovo wars, eventually signing the Dayton Peace agreement. He also called for the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and many former Warsaw Pact members joined NATO during his presidency. Clinton's foreign policy in the Middle East saw him sign the Iraq Liberation Act which gave aid to groups against Saddam Hussein. He also participated in the Oslo I Accord and Camp David Summit to advance the Israeli\u2013Palestinian peace process, and assisted the Northern Ireland peace process.\n

Clinton won re-election in the 1996 election, defeating Republican nominee Bob Dole and returning Reform Party nominee Ross Perot. In his second term, Clinton made use of permanent normal trade. Many of his second term accomplishments were overshadowed by the Clinton\u2013Lewinsky scandal, when it was revealed in early 1998 that he had been engaging in an eighteen month-long sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.^[2] This scandal escalated throughout the year, culminating in December when Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives, becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson. The two impeachment articles that the House passed were centered around perjury and Clinton using the powers of the presidency to commit obstruction of justice. In January 1999, Clinton's impeachment trial began in the Senate, where he was acquitted two months later on both charges. During the last three years of Clinton's presidency, the Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus\u2014the first such surplus since 1969.\n

Clinton left office in 2001 with the joint-highest approval rating of any U.S. president. His presidency ranks among the middle to upper tier in historical rankings of U.S. presidents. However, his personal conduct and misconduct allegations, as well as his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have made him the subject of substantial scrutiny. Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2009, he was named the United Nations special envoy to Haiti. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Clinton founded the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund with George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He has remained active in Democratic Party politics, campaigning for his wife's 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Following Jimmy Carter's death in December 2024, he is the earliest-serving living former U.S. president and the only living president to have served in the 20th century.^[3]\n

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Early life and career

College and law school years

Georgetown University

Oxford

Vietnam War opposition and draft controversy

Law school

Failed congressional campaign and tenure as Attorney General of Arkansas

Governor of Arkansas (1979\u20131981, 1983\u20131992)

Scandals and allegations

1988 Democratic presidential primaries

1992 United States presidential election

Presidency (1993\u20132001)

First term (1993\u20131997)

1996 presidential campaign

Second term (1997\u20132001)

Investigations

Impeachment and acquittal

Pardons and commutations

Campaign finance controversies

Military and foreign affairs

Somalia

Rwanda

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Irish peace talks

Iran

Iraq

Osama bin Laden

Kosovo

China

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Judicial appointments

Public opinion

Public image

Sexual assault and misconduct allegations

Alleged affairs

Post-presidency (2001\u2013present)

Activities until 2008 campaign

2008 presidential election

After the 2008 election

2016 presidential election and after

Post-presidential health concerns

Wealth

Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Personal life

Health

Accolades

See also

References

Citations

Further reading

Primary sources

Popular books

Scholarly studies

Arkansas years

External links

Official

Interviews, speeches, and statements

Media coverage

Other

Timelines of Bill Clinton

Main Timeline

Challenges and Controversies

Early Life and Education

Foreign Policy

Personal Life and Relationships

Political Career

Post-Presidency

Presidential Achievements