Barack Obama, Sr.

Kenyan economist

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July 20, 2026

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Barack Obama, Sr. was a Kenyan economist who served in the government of Kenya. He was the father of Barack Obama, the 44th U.S. president. Obama Sr. and Barack Obama's mother, S. Ann Dunham, met and married while they were students at the University of Hawaii. Obama Sr. later studied at Harvard University before returning to Kenya. He was a significant figure in his home country's economic development.12

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Stanley Ann Dunham
Marriage to Barack Obama, Sr.
…eight years her senior, named Barack Obama. They began dating, and by the time they married in February 1961, Dunham was three months pregnant with their son. Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961. Shortly thereafter, Dunham took her infant son and went back to Washington state…
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…eight years her senior, named Barack Obama. They began dating, and by the time they married in February 1961, Dunham was three months pregnant with their son. Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961. Shortly thereafter, Dunham took her infant son and went back to Washington state…
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Barack Obama
Early life
Obama’s father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a teenage goatherd in rural Kenya, won a scholarship to study in the United States, and eventually became a senior economist in the Kenyan government. Obama’s mother, S. Ann Dunham, grew up in Kansas, Texas, and Washington state before her family
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Obama’s father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a teenage goatherd in rural Kenya, won a scholarship to study in the United States, and eventually became a senior economist in the Kenyan government. Obama’s mother, S. Ann Dunham, grew up in Kansas, Texas, and Washington state before her family
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