Bill Clinton, Attorney

In 1968, former president Bill Clinton earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His early career began in politics with an internship and later a clerkship (from 1964-1967) for Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright.

Following graduation, Clinton earned a Rhodes Scholarship to University College, Oxford. He studied there briefly, earning an honorary degree before accepting an offer to study at Yale Law School.

Clinton graduated from Yale Law School with a J.D. in 1973. He met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, at Yale. Following his graduation, the pair moved to Texas, where Clinton worked for George McGovern, future Dallas mayor Dallas Ron Kirk, future governor Ann Richards, and television director Steven Spielberg.  

After a brief stint in Texas, Clinton returned to Arkansas. He taught law at the University of Arkansas and ran for the House of Representatives. Clinton become the Arkansas Attorney General in 1976, then joined the law firm of Wright, Lindsey, and Jennings in Little Rock.

For the next 12 years, Clinton was a multi-term governor of Arkansas. His first term lasted from 1979-1981; the second ran from 1983-1992. During his time in office, Clinton changed the gubernatorial term of office from two to four years. He also improved the state's economy and education system.

Clinton became the 42nd president of the United States in 1993. He held office through 1997. During that time, he signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (1995) and raised taxes to cap the nation's budget deficit. In 1993, Clinton signed the Brady Bill, which mandated background checks on individuals purchasing firearms in the US. He also expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit to aid low income workers. In 1994 he signed NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, into law.

Clinton is also responsible for signing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" directive into law; that Department of Defense directive forbid US military personnel from inquiring about an enlistee's sexual orientation, and it excused enlistees from disclosing that information. Essentially, the bill allowed gays to serve openly in the military.

Clinton served a second term in office from 1997-2001. His focus during that time was health care reform and peacekeeping. Clinton appointed two Supreme Court justices as president and made 373 judicial appointments, the second-highest number of appointments after Ronald Reagan.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Yale Law School	J.D.	Law School	1973
Georgetown University	BS	Foreign Service	1968

• Honorary Fellow (University College, Oxford)
  Honorary GLAAD Media Award
  TED Prize
  1992: Time’s “Man of the Year”  
  1998: Time’s “Man of the Year”
  1999: Gallup’s List of Widely Admired People
  1999: Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children
  1999: J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding
  2011: National Order of Honour and Merit (from Haitian president Michel Martelly)
  2013: Presidential Medal of Freedom (from US President Barack Obama)
  

• Between Hope and History. New York: Times Books. 1996.
  My Life (1st Ed.) New York: Vintage Books. 2004.
  Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World (1st Ed.). New York: Knopf. 2007.
  Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy. Knopf. 2011.