Joseph Biden
(1942 - )
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. is the 47th Vice President
of the United States in the administration
of President Barack Obama. He was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania and is the oldest
of four siblings. In 1953, the Biden family moved from Pennsylvania
to Claymont, Delaware.
He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965 and Syracuse Law
School in 1968 and set up his own law firm in the Wilmington area where
he practiced until 1972. In 1970, Biden ran for New Castle County Council
and won in a Republican district. At age 29, he launched an improbable
bid to unseat two-term Republican U.S. Sen. J. Caleb Boggs. With very
little help from the state establishment, and with his sister as his
campaign manager, Biden defeated Boggs by 3,162 votes to become one
of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate.
Just weeks after the election, tragedy struck the Biden
family, when Biden's wife, Neilia, and their 1-year old daughter, Naomi,
were killed and their two young sons critically injured in an auto accident.
Biden was sworn in at his sons' hospital bedside and began commuting
to Washington, D.C. every day by
train, a practice he maintained throughout his career
in the Senate.
In 1977, Biden married Jill Jacobs. Jill Biden, who
holds a Ph.D. in Education, has been an educator for over two decades
in Delaware's schools and is currently
a professor at Delaware Technical Community College. Vice President
Biden has three children: Beau, Hunter, and Ashley. Beau serves as Delaware's
Attorney General and is currently deployed to Iraq as a Captain in the 261st Signal Brigade of the Delaware National Guard. Ashley is a social worker and Hunter is an attorney.
Vice President Biden has five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Roberta
Mabel ("Maisy"), Natalie, and Robert Hunter.
In 1988, Biden suffered a cranial aneurysm and nearly
died. He recovered by early 1989 after two surgeries and has enjoyed
good health since then.
As a Senator from Delaware for 36 years, Biden has
been a leader on some of our nation's most important domestic and international
challenges. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee
for 17 years, Biden was widely recognized for his work on criminal justice
issues including the landmark 1994 Crime Bill and the Violence Against
Women Act. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee since 1997, Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign
policy. He has been at the forefront of issues and legislation related
to terrorism, weapons
of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle
East, and Southwest Asia.
As Vice President of the United States in the Barack
Obama Administration since 2008, Biden has continued his leadership
on crucial issues facing the U.S. He implemented the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, which is helping rebuild our economy and lay the
groundwork for a sustainable economic future. Additionally, Vice President
Biden continues to raise the living standards of middle class Americans
across the country, and has focused on the issues of college affordability
and American manufacturing growth, key priorities of the Administration.
In Foreign affairs, Vice President Biden helped the Senate approve the New
START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, and significant new
funding to maintain our nuclear laboratories. He also played a key role
in ending the war in Iraq responsibly and traveled to Iraq eight times
since being elected.
He has represented the United States in every region
of the world, advancing unprecedented U.S.
support for Israel’s security, securing approval in Europe
for the Administration’s more effective approach to missile defense,
working with Latin American leaders to combat drug trafficking and international
crime and building relations with key leaders in Africa.
He has traveled to more than two dozen countries, including Germany, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Georgia, Ukraine, Iraq, Poland, Romania, the Czech
Republic, Israel, the Palestinian
Territories, Jordan, Spain, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Finland, Russia, Moldova, Italy, China, Mongolia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece, Mexico and Honduras.
For Vice President Biden's views and voting record
on Middle East related issues, CLICK HERE.
Sources: Obama
'08; The
White House |