Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (née Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, and the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 as the wife of Bill Clinton. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party. Clinton won the popular vote but lost the election to Republican Party nominee Donald Trump in the United States Electoral College. She is the only first lady of the United States to have run for, or held, elected office.

Born and raised in Chicago, Rodham graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 and from Yale Law School in 1973. After serving as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas and, in 1975, married Bill Clinton, initially keeping her maiden name. In 1977, Rodham co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and two years later became the first woman partner at Little Rock's Rose Law Firm. She was the first lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992, at which time she began going by "Hillary Rodham Clinton". As the first lady of the U.S., Clinton advocated for healthcare reform. In 1994, her health care plan failed to gain approval from Congress. In 1997 and 1999, Clinton played a leading role in promoting the creation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act. In 1998, Clinton's marital relationship came under public scrutiny during the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, which led her to publicly reaffirm her commitment to the marriage.