Barack Obama, Sr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For his son, the nited States Senator and !residential candidate, see Barack Obama. Barack Obama, Sr. Obama, Sr. "ith son, Barack c. #$%# Born #$&' (yang)oma *ogelo, *enya +ied #$,- .aged /'0 (airobi, *enya 1esting place (yang)oma *ogelo, Siaya, *enya2#3 (ationality *enya 4lma mater niversity of 5a"aii 5arvard niversity Occupation 6conomist *no"n for Father of Barack Obama !artner *e7ia Obama 4nn +unham 1uth (idesand Jael2-32&32/3 8hildren #. ."ith *e7ia0: 4bongo .1oy0 Obama, 4uma Obama, 4bo Obama, Bernard Obama -. ."ith 4nn +unham0: Barack Obama &. ."ith 1uth (idesand0: 9ark (desand:o,2;3 +avid (desand:o /. ."ith Jael0: <eorge Obama !arents 5ussein Onyango Obama and 4kumu 5abiba Barack 5ussein Obama .#$&'=#$,-0 "as a *enyan senior governmental economist, and father of >llinois Senator and -??, +emocratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. 5e is the main sub:ect of his son@s memoir, +reams From 9y Father. 8ontents 2hide3 A # Biography o #.# 6arly years o #.- 6ducation o #.& 1eturn to *enya A - See also A & 1eferences 2edit3 Biography 2edit3 6arly years Obama Sr. "as born on the shores of Bake Cictoria in (yang)oma *ogelo, 4lego, Siaya, *enya to 5ussein Onyango Obama .c. #,$;=#$%$0, and 4kumu 5abiba.2#3 5is family are members of the Buo ethnic group. Obama Sr. "as raised as a 9uslim, but later became an atheist.2'3 5e gre" up in (yang)oma *ogelo, and "as married at the age of eighteen in a tribal ceremony to *e7ia, "ith "hom he had four children. 2edit3 6ducation +ue to a program offering Western educational opportunities to outstanding *enyan students that "as organi7ed by nationalist leader Dom 9boya,2%3 Obama Sr. "as a"arded a scholarship in economics, and at the age of -& he enrolled at the niversity of 5a"aii. 5e left behind a pregnant *e7ia and their infant son. 4s his son Senator Obama has said, EDhe *ennedys decided: @We@re going to do an airlift. We@re going to go to 4frica and start bringing young 4fricans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn "hat a "onderful country 4merica is. Dhis young man named Barack Obama 2Sr.3 got one of those tickets and came over to this country.@E2,3 4n article by 9ichael

+obbs in Dhe Washington !ost, ho"ever, states that the *ennedy family did not become associated "ith the educational airlift until #$'?, a year after Obama Sr. "as studying in the nited States. >nitial financial supporters of the program included 5arry Belafonte, Sidney !oitier, Jackie 1obinson, and 6li7abeth 9ooney *irk, a literacy advocate "ho provided most of the financial support for Obama Sr.@s early years in the nited States, according to the Dom 9boya archives at Stanford niversity.2%3 Obama Sr. had already turned a"ay from >slam and became an atheist by the time he moved to the nited States.2'3 Barack Obama Sr.@s daughter 4uma has commented that her father E"as never a 9uslim although he "as born into a 9uslim family "ith a 9uslim name.E2,3 On -# February #$'#, Obama Sr. married fello" student 4nn +unham in 9aui, 5a"aii.2$3 Dheir son, Barack Obama, "as born on 4ugust /, #$'#. She left school to care for the baby, and Obama Sr. completed his degree and graduated from the niversity of 5a"aii in June #$'-, leaving shortly thereafter to travel to 8ambridge, 9assachusetts "here he "ould begin graduate study at 5arvard niversity in the fall.2#?3 Bater that summer +unham took the yearFold baby Barack for a visit to friends in 9ercer >sland, the Seattle suburb "here she had gro"n up, on her "ay to :oin Obama Sr. in 8ambridge,2#?32##32#-3 but mother and son returned to Seattle, "here she enrolled in the niversity of Washington.2##32#?3 +unham, missing her family, soon moved back to 5a"aii2##3 and filed for divorce in 5onolulu in January #$'/G Obama Sr. did not contest it and the divorce "as granted.2$3 5e received a 9asters degree .490 in economics from 5arvard in #$';2#&3 and only sa" his son again once, in #$%#, "hen Barack "as #? years old. 4t 5arvard, Obama Sr. met an 4mericanFborn teacher named 1uth (idesand "ho "ould follo" him to *enya "hen he returned after completing his 9asters degree. She eventually became his third "ife and had t"o children "ith him before they divorced.2#/3 2edit3 1eturn to *enya On his return to *enya, Obama Sr. "as hired by an oil company and then served as an economist in the 9inistry of Dransportation, and later became senior economist in the *enyan 9inistry of Finance.2#;3 >n #$'; Obama Sr. "rote a paper titled E!roblems Facing Our Socialism,E published in the 6ast 4frica Journal, harshly critici7ing the blueprint for national planning titled E4frican Socialism and >ts 4pplicability to !lanning in *enyaE produced by Dom 9boya@s 9inistry of 6conomic !lanning and +evelopment.2#'3 4s Senator Barack Obama describes in his memoir, his father@s conflict "ith !resident *enyatta destroyed his career. Obama Sr.@s life then took a tailspin into drinking and poverty, from "hich he never recovered. 5is friend, *enyan :ournalist !hilip Ochieng, has described Obama Sr.@s difficult personality and drinking problems in the *enya ne"spaper Dhe (ation.2%3 Obama Sr. lost both legs in an automobile accident, and subseHuently lost his :ob. 5e died not long after"ard at the age of /' in a car crash in (airobi.2%3 Obama Sr. is buried in 4lego, at the village of (yang)oma *ogelo, Siaya +istrict, *enya. 2edit3 See also A Family of Barack Obama 2edit3 1eferences