Democrat Barack Obama made history when he defeated Republican John McCain to become the first black to be elected U.S. president.

 

The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois will be sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on January 20, 2009. Obama sealed his victory by defeating McCain in a string of key battleground states led by Ohio, the state that narrowly clinched President George W. Bush's re-election in 2004, and Virginia, a state that had not backed a Democrat since 1964.

 

Barack Obama is son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas. His victory marks a key milestone in American history. It is a culmination of the efforts of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King.

 

Barack Obama faces a series of challenges after assuming presidency. These include tackling global financial crisis to ending the war in Iraq and winning the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.