Bill Clinton remained active after the presidency
Clinton's wife started her political career as his administration came to a close. The first spouse of a U.S. president to be elected to Congress, Hillary Rodham Clinton represented New York in the U.S. Senate in 2000. She later nearly missed out on the Democratic Party's presidential candidacy in 2008 to Barack Obama, but Obama nonetheless selected her secretary of state during his government. Bill Clinton continued to be involved in politics and was a well-liked lecturer. He launched the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2001, a charitable organization that tackled numerous worldwide concerns through initiatives like the Clinton Global Initiative (2005), the Clinton Economic Opportunity Initiative (2002), and the Clinton Climate Initiative (2006). In Little Rock, Arkansas, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum debuted in 2004.
Bill Clinton was selected by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to serve as a special envoy for recovery operations the following year after a tsunami in the Indian Ocean had caused massive death and destruction, a role he retained until 2007. As chairman of the National Constitution Center, a history museum in Philadelphia, Clinton succeeded George H.W. Bush in 2009. He was appointed a UN special envoy to Haiti later that year. Following the catastrophic earthquake that hit that nation in January 2010, Clinton's UN responsibilities were expanded to include managing relief efforts and reconstruction. Obama received support from Clinton during the 2012 US general election, which helped him secure a second term in office. Clinton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
