Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: January 1993 to January 2001
Terms: Two
Birthday: August 19, 1946
Birth Place: Hope, Arkansas

Notes:
~ Father died 3 months before his birth
~ Skilled musician
~ Decided at age 16 that he would have a public life in politics
~ Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University
~ Rhodes Scholar
~ Played rugby at Oxford
~ Third youngest President at age 46
~ First “baby boom” generation President
~ Impeached for perjury; acquitted by the Senate
~ Opened the first official White House web site – 1994
~ Left office with the highest Presidential approval rating (65%) since World War II

“Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”

From Clinton’s Inaugural Address – January, 20, 1993.

William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, began life as William Jefferson Blythe III. His father died 3 months before “Bill” was born and his mother left him with his maternal grandparents for most of his first 4 years while she attended nursing school.

Returning from New Orleans with a nursing degree in 1950, Bill’s mother married Roger Clinton and the new family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Bill did not adopt his stepfather’s surname of Clinton until he was 15. Bill’s half-brother, Roger, was born in July 1956.

He attended Hot Springs High School in Arkansas and with the aid of scholarships attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University – interning with Senator J. William Fulbright in the summer of 1967 – and graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968.

He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1968 – taking him to Oxford, England – after which he returned to the US and to Yale University from which he received his law degree in 1973. Also after leaving Oxford, Clinton met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, whom he married in 1975. Their only child, Chelsea, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas – February 1980.

After spending some time in California and Texas, Clinton returned to Arkansas as a law professor at the University of Arkansas. He was defeated in a run for the House of Representatives in 1974 but was elected Arkansas’ Attorney General in 1976 and Governor of Arkansas in 1978. Losing this seat in 1980, he regained it in 1982 and kept the Governor’s post for the next 10 years. In 1992, Clinton won the U.S. Presidential election.

Countries Visited by President Clinton

Note: In May 1993, President Clinton fired many members of the White House Travel Office claiming that financial improprieties had been found. Critics believed the firings were instead motivated by the Clinton’s desire to provide this Presidential travel business to their friends and business associates.

Clinton was elected for a second Presidential term in 1996. In 1998 the House voted to impeach Clinton regarding statements made in a sworn deposition. He was acquitted in 1999 and remained in office, finishing this second term January 20, 2001.

Presidential Travel

US Presidents have to be in good health – and for good reason. Bill Clinton made the equivalent of two international trips per month during 1994 alone. Good thing Air Force One is available and that he didn’t lose time waiting for his luggage to hit the good old airport carousel!

1993
~Canada ~Japan ~Korea

1994
~Belgium ~Czech Republic ~Ukraine ~Russia ~Belarus
~Switzerland ~Italy (2) ~Vatican City ~United Kingdom (2)
~France ~Latvia ~Poland ~Germany ~Egypt ~Jordan
~Syria ~Israel ~Kuwait ~Saudi Arabia ~Philipines
~Indonesia ~Hungary

1995
~Canda (2) ~Haiti ~Russia ~Ukraine ~Israel ~United Kingdom
~Ireland ~Germany ~Spain ~France

1996
~Italy ~Hungary ~Bosnia-Herzegovina ~Croatia ~Egypt
~Israel ~Korea ~Japan ~Russia ~France ~Australia
~Philapines ~Thailand

1997
~Finland ~Mexico ~Costa Rica ~Barbados ~France
~Netherlands ~United Kingdom ~Spain ~Poland ~Romania
~Denmark ~Venezuela ~Brazil ~Argentina ~Canada ~Italy
~Bosnia-Herzegovina

1998
~Ghana ~Uganda ~Rwanda ~South Africa ~Botswanna ~Senegal
~Chile ~Germany ~United Kingdom (2) ~Switzerland ~China ~Russia
~Ireland ~Japan ~Korea ~Israel ~Palestinian Authority

1999
~Jordan ~Mexico ~Nicaragua ~Honduras ~El Salvador ~Guatemala
~Belgium ~Germany (2) ~Switzerland ~France ~Slovinia
~Macedonia ~Italy (2) ~Morocco ~Bosnia-Herzegovina ~New Zealand
~Canada ~Norway ~Turkey ~Greece ~Bulgaria ~Serbia (Kosovo)

2000
~Switzerland (2) ~Italy ~India ~Bangladesh ~Pakistan ~Oman
~Portugal ~Germany ~Russia ~Ukraine ~Japan ~Nigeria
~Tanzania ~Egypt (2) ~Columbia ~Brunei Durassalam ~Vietnam
~Ireland ~United Kingdom

President Clinton holds the record so far for the least vacation days taken as President. However, he did seem to favor Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Travel: Post-Presidency

As he planned in 1963, Bill Clinton continues an active and involved public life after his time in office.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park was dedicated in 2004 along with the publication of his best-selling biography, “My Life.” He has also created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address issues such as Aids and HIV – and the Clinton Global Initiative which is involved with public health, and religious and ethnic rights and issues. He is also heavily involved with groups studying the impacts of global warming, climate change, and global environmental pollution.

He and his wife, Hillary, the current US Secretary of State, live in Chappaqua, Westchester County, N.Y. His latest book, “Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy” was published in November 2011.

Former: President George H. W. Bush

Next: George W. Bush

Presidential Travel Index