Few interesting facts about US President Barack Obama

Washington, Nov 7:

was re-elected as

after defeating Republican rival Mitt Romney in a tight election on Tuesday, Nov 6. The victory of Obama was nothing less than historic. Obama managed to retain his Presidential post and became the only black American to do so in the annals of US history.

OneIndia brings to you few interesting facts about the 44th US President Barack Obama.

1. Barack Obama was born on Aug 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

2. Before starting his political inning, Obama was a civil-rights lawyer and teacher.

3. Barack Obama is the third consecutive president of the US to retain office after his predecessors George W Bush Jr and Bill Clinton. His predecessor George W Bush served as US president from 2001 to 2009. William J Clinton, better known as Bill Clinton, became president in 1993 and went on to retain his office till 2001.

4. Obama shares strong Asia connection as he spent few years of his childhood in Indonesia with his mother Ann Dunham and step-father Lolo Soetoro.

5. Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth.

6. Besides his native English, Obama speaks some basic Indonesian, having learned the language during his four childhood years in Jakarta.

7. He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team and he is left-handed.

8. Barack Obama started dating Michelle in 1989 and got engaged in 1991. They were married on Oct 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on Jul 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on Jun 10, 2001.

9. Barack Obama was a smoker. Obama tried to quit smoking several times, sometimes using nicotine replacement therapy, and in early 2010, Michelle Obama said that he had successfully quit smoking.

10. Obama was also member of the "choom gang", a self named group of friends that spent time together and occasionally smoked marijuana. At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama expressed regret for his high-school drug use.

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