At the age of 78 Joe Biden — the 46th U.S. president is the oldest person to assume presidency in the history of USA. Biden became the oldest sitting president, the first from Delaware, and the second Catholic when he took over as President of USA on January 20, 2021. This makes Biden older than his predecessor Donald Trump who was 70 years, and 220 days old when he stepped into the Oval office on Jan 20, 2017.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009 before taking over as the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
The first of four children of Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, Biden Jr was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and New Castle County, Delaware.
Biden studied at the University of Delaware and earned his law degree from Syracuse University before becoming one of the youngest senators in American history when he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware at the age of 29.
PERSONAL LIFE:
A few weeks after the election, Biden’s wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi on a Christmas shopping spree were killed in an automobile accident in Delaware. Biden’s two sons Beau (age 3) and Hunter (age 2) survived but with multiple injuries.
A heartbroken Biden considered resigning to care for them, but was persuaded not to do so. Biden was sworn into the Senate at his sons’ hospital bedside at the Wilmington Medical Center in Delaware. This was the beginning of a perpetual commute to Washington —90 minutes each way— by train every day to attend the Senate proceedings and yet be with his children.
In 1977 Biden married Jill Tracy Jacobs an English professor at a community college in Virginia. In 2015 Biden’s eldest son Beau Biden passed away after battling brain cancer.
AS A SENATOR
Elected to the Senate for the first time in 1972, Biden is the 18th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history as on date. He was re-elected in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, regularly receiving about 60% votes.
During his long standing innings as a senator Biden has focused on consumer protection, environmental issues and greater government accountability. Biden is widely recognized for spearheading the Violence against Women Act and the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He was at the forefront of issues and legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and ending apartheid.
In a 1974 he described himself as liberal on civil rights and liberties, senior citizens’ concerns and healthcare but conservative on other issues, including abortion and the military conscription. In 1993, Biden voted for a provision that bans homosexuality incompatible in military life and prohibits gays from serving in the armed forces. In 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, thereby barring individuals in such marriages from equal protection under federal law and allowing states to do the same.
“America is an idea. An idea that is stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. It gives hope to the most desperate people on earth, it guarantees that everyone is treated with dignity and gives hate no safe harbor. It instills in every person in this country the belief that no matter where you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve if you work at it. That’s what we believe.”
47TH VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
As Vice President, Biden convened sessions of the President’s Cabinet, led interagency efforts, and worked with Congress in his fight to raise the living standards of middle-class Americans, reduce gun violence, address violence against women, and end cancer.
Biden helped President Obama pass and then oversaw the implementation of the Recovery Act — the biggest economic recovery plan in the history of the nation and our biggest and strongest commitment to clean energy. The President’s plan prevented another Great Depression, created and saved millions of jobs, and led to 75 uninterrupted months of job growth by the end of the administration. And Biden did it all with less than 1% in waste, abuse, or fraud — the most efficient government program in our country’s history.
President Obama and Vice President Biden also secured the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which reduced the number of uninsured Americans by 20 million by the time they left office and banned insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
He served as the point person for U.S. diplomacy throughout the Western Hemisphere, strengthened relationships with our allies both in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, and led the effort to bring 150,000 troops home from Iraq.
In a ceremony at the White House, President Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction — the nation’s highest civilian honor.
