US Presidents · 20th century

Bill Clinton

1946– · American

Democratic

In office: 1993–2001

William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd president, was a Rhodes Scholar and Governor of Arkansas who led a "New Democrat" administration during a long economic boom that produced federal budget surpluses. He signed NAFTA and welfare reform, helped broker peace efforts in the Middle East, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, and became the second president to be impeached, over the Monica Lewinsky affair, before being acquitted by the Senate.

How to spot them

▸'The Comeback Kid'; born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas
▸Rhodes Scholar at University College, Oxford
▸Impeached in 1998 over the Lewinsky affair and acquitted in 1999
▸NAFTA; 'Don't ask, don't tell'; the Dayton Accords; 'It's the economy, stupid' (his campaign's slogan)

In office

'Don't ask, don't tell' (1993)

Policy on gay and lesbian people serving in the military

The Oslo Accords handshake on the White House lawn (1993)

Hosted the signing between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1993)

Free trade area with Canada and Mexico, in force from 1994

The Dayton Accords (1995)

Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, negotiated in Ohio

Welfare reform (1996)

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, 'ending welfare as we know it'

'I did not have sexual relations with that woman' (1998)

Denial later contradicted, leading to his impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia over Kosovo (1999)

Air campaign to halt the Serbian crackdown in Kosovo

Quick-fire facts

•42nd president; the first Democrat since FDR to win two full terms
•Governor of Arkansas for about 12 years before winning the presidency in 1992
•Nicknamed 'the Comeback Kid' after the 1992 New Hampshire primary, and 'Slick Willie' by critics
•Second president impeached by the House (after Andrew Johnson); acquitted by the Senate in February 1999
•Played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show during the 1992 campaign
•The US federal budget was in surplus from 1998 to 2001
•Supported the Northern Ireland peace process; George Mitchell was his special envoy
•Wife Hillary Clinton later became a senator, Secretary of State and the 2016 Democratic nominee; his memoir is My Life (2004)

Drill it — 8 cards

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Sources

Miller Center, University of Virginia — Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton — My Life