Hillary Rodham Clinton is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, as a U.S. senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, and as the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party.
Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois. She attended Wellesley College and Yale Law School, where she met her future husband, Bill Clinton. After law school, she worked as a law professor and an advocate for children and families. She served as Arkansas's first lady from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992.
As first lady of the United States, Clinton was a vocal advocate for healthcare reform, education reform, and children's rights. She was also the chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform, which developed a comprehensive healthcare plan that was ultimately not passed by Congress.
In 2000, Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York. She served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Senate Budget Committee. She was also a member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which was appointed in 2006 to assess the situation in Iraq and make recommendations for a new U.S. strategy.
In 2008, Clinton ran for president of the United States. She won the Democratic nomination but lost the general election to Republican nominee Barack Obama. In 2009, Obama appointed Clinton to serve as secretary of state. As secretary of state, Clinton worked to promote American diplomacy and interests around the world. She also played a key role in the negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal.