Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. After the end of his presidency, he continued to be active in the public sphere, touring the world, writing books, and campaigning for Democrats, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as the junior U.S. senator from New York between 2001 and 2009 and the 67th United States Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013, on her presidential campaigns in 2008, in which she was runner-up for the Democratic nomination, and in 2016, when she lost the election to Donald Trump. After Clinton left office, he ended up forming a close friendship with George H. W. Bush, and later, with his son George W. Bush.

Public speaking and campaigning

At the end of his presidency, the Clintons moved to their house 15 Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York, in Westchester County. Clinton opened his personal office in the Harlem section of New York City. In 2000, Clinton assisted his wife in her campaign for office as Senator from New York. Clinton campaigned for a number of Democratic candidates for the Senate in the 2002 elections.

Clinton comments on contemporary politics in speaking engagements around the world.Press release: President Bill Clinton to be keynote speaker at World Congress on IT 2002 , World Information Technology and Services Alliance, Adelaide, South AustraliaKatherine Hamilton. "Bill Clinton to speak at Class Day ", The Daily Princetonian, April 18, 2006 One notable theme is his advocacy of multilateral solutions to world problems.

Clinton spoke for the fifth consecutive time at a Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2004, praising candidate John Kerry. He said of President George W. Bush's depiction of Kerry, "strength and wisdom are not opposing values." Despite Clinton's speech, the post-convention bounce to Kerry's poll numbers was less than was hoped for.

Clinton has given dozens of paid speeches each year, mostly to corporations and philanthropic groups in North America and Europe, often earning $100,000 to $300,000 per speech;Gerstein, Josh. Clinton Eligible, Once Again, To Practice Law, New York Sun, January 17, 2006. for 13 speeches he was paid $500,000, or more.Carroll, Lauren. Fact-checking 'Clinton Cash' author on claim about Bill Clinton's speaking fees, PunditFact, April 26, 2015. According to his wife's Senate ethics reports, he earned more than $30 million in speaking from 2001 to 2005. In 2007, it is estimated he amassed around $40 million from speaking fees. Overall, Bill Clinton earned more than $104 million from 542 paid speeches between January 2001 and January 2013.Rucker, Philip, Tom Hamburger and Alexander Becker. How the Clintons went from ‘dead broke’ to rich: Bill earned $104.9 million for speeches, The Washington Post, June 26, 2014.

Clinton made his first visit to (the at the time) new United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in April 2007.

He was the opening speaker at the Ontario Economic Summit held on November 13, 2007 in which he addressed people on various subjects including Canada's role in Afghanistan, environmentalism and access to healthcare.Ontario Economic Summit, CTV.

Clinton served as one of the organizers for the New Baptist Covenant alongside former president Jimmy Carter and other Baptist leaders. This effort sought to bring various Baptists in America together, especially across racial lines, to discuss issues that unite them. Clinton spoke at the January 2008 celebration in Atlanta, Georgia.

Post 9/11 and relations with Bob Dole Following 9/11, Clinton teamed up with his one-time political rival, former U.S. senator Bob Dole, on the Families of Freedom Foundation, a scholarship fund campaign to pay for the college educations for the families of 9/11 victims. It helped raise more than $100 million. Clinton also was, for a short time in 2003, a commentator opposite Dole on CBS's 60 Minutes.

William J. Clinton Presidential Center

Clinton dedicated his presidential library, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18, 2004. Under rainy skies, Clinton received praise from former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush, as well as from then-president George W. Bush. He was treated to a musical rendition from Bono and the Edge from U2, who expressed their gratitude at Clinton's efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict during his presidency. The library has the largest archives of any presidential library.

The Clinton facility was funded to a large degree by donations from foreign governments, receiving a $10 million donation from the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Published work

Clinton released a personal autobiography, My Life in 2004. The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group at Random House on June 22, 2004. According to the publisher, for single day non-fiction book sales, the book set a worldwide record.Alfred A. Knopft (2004) Bill Clinton's My Life sets one day, non-fiction sales record Later released as an audio book, total sales were in excess of 400,000 copies. As a writer's fee, he received U.S. $12 million in advance.

He released, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World in September 2007, which became a bestseller and gandered positive reviews. The book is about citizen activism and the role of public charity and public service in the modern world. The audiobook version was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album.

In 2011, Clinton released a book "Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy." The book details Clinton's suggestions for improving the economy.

Citizen: My Life After the White House, his second autobiography which covers his post-presidency years, was released on November 19, 2024.

William J. Clinton Foundation

The William J. Clinton Foundation promotes and provides for a number of humanitarian causes. Within the foundation, the Clinton Foundation HIV and AIDS Initiative (CHAI) strives to make treatment for HIV/AIDS more affordable and to implement large-scale integrated care, treatment, and prevention programs. While in Sydney to attend a Global Business Forum, Clinton signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of his presidential foundation with the Australian government to promote HIV/AIDS programs in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), funded by the Clinton Foundation, was inaugurated September 15–17, 2005 in New York City to coincide with the 2005 World Summit. The focus areas of the initiative include attempts to address world problems such as global public health, poverty alleviation and religious and ethnic conflict.

Clinton announced through the William J. Clinton Foundation an agreement by major soft drink manufacturers to stop selling sugared sodas and juice drinks, in public primary and secondary schools within the United States, on May 3, 2005.

The foundation has received donations from a number of foreign governments, including the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar.

In 2008 newspapers reported that "Mr Clinton had travelled to Kazakhstan with a Canadian mining magnate, Frank Giustra, to meet its dictator president. Mr Giustra later won three lucrative uranium mining contracts from the government and then donated $US31 million to Mr Clinton's charity."

Relations with George H. W. Bush

In the aftermath of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Clinton established, with fellow former president George H. W. Bush, the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, respectively. He and Bush appeared together in television ads in 2005, encouraging aid for victims of the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. For this, they were awarded the 2006 Philadelphia Liberty Medal on October 5, 2006.

Then-President George W. Bush, to help the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, named Clinton and his father George H. W. Bush to lead a nationwide campaign on January 3, 2005. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan selected Clinton to head the United Nations earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction effort on February 1, 2005.

Five days later, to raise money for relief through the USA Freedom Corps, Clinton and Bush appeared on the Fox Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show. Thirteen days later, to see the relief efforts, they traveled to the affected areas. In April 2007, they spoke together at the funeral of Russian president Boris Yeltsin.

Environment To create the Clinton Foundation Climate Change Initiative (CCI), the William J. Clinton Foundation entered into a partnership with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group on August 1, 2006, agreeing to provide resources to allow the participating cities to enter into an energy-saving product purchasing consortium and to provide technical and communications support.

Clinton criticized the Bush administration for its handling of emissions control while speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal on December 9, 2005. To promote initiatives concerning the environment, Clinton twice visited the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006. First, to advertise the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, he met with Tony Blair, Ken Livingstone, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Gavin Newsom on August 1, 2006. On October 13, 2006, he spoke in favor of California Proposition 87 on alternative energy, which was voted down.

Personal health

On September 2, 2004, while campaigning for Kerry, Clinton had an episode of angina and was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital. It was determined he did not suffer a coronary infarction, and he was sent home, returning the following day for angiography, which disclosed multiple vessel coronary artery disease. He was transferred to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he underwent a successful on-pump quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on September 6, 2004. The medical team stated, had he not had surgery, he would have likely suffered a massive heart attack within a few months. As a complication of his heart surgery, Clinton underwent a follow-up surgery on March 10, 2005 for a left pleural effusion, removing scar tissue and fluid from his left chest cavity.

On February 11, 2010, he was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains, and had two coronary stents implanted in his heart. He has since recovered and become a vegan.

2008 Presidential election In the course of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign, Clinton vigorously advocated on behalf of his wife, Hillary Clinton, leading some observers and party members to question the appropriateness of his role in view of his status as a former president. Some felt that Clinton was overshadowing his wife in the campaign, with her presidential rival Barack Obama complaining that he sometimes did not know which Clinton he was running against. At an MSNBC debate, Republican primary candidate Mitt Romney said that he "can't imagine Bill Clinton left with nothing to do in the White House", suggesting that Clinton would be a "co-president and try and help manage the economy and help manage the world affairs".Romney on McCain, the Clintons, Posted: Saturday, January 26, 2008 3:19 PM by Mark Murray