Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, February 2009 Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, February 2009 The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, gave his first public address before a joint session of the United States Congress on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. Similar to a State of the Union address, it was delivered before the 111th United States Congress in the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Presiding over this joint session was the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Accompanying the Speaker of the House was the President of the United States Senate, Joe Biden, the Vice President
Presidency of Barack Obama Presidency of Barack Obama The presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat, took office following a decisive victory over Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Four years later, in the 2012 election, he defeated Republican Mitt Romney to win re-election. He was the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president to have been born in Hawaii. Obama was succeeded by Republican Donald