What state did Barack Obama represent in the United States Senate, before he became President of the U.S.?

Barack Obama (44th president of the United States) before winning the presidency represented the state of Illinois in the U.S. Senate (2005–08). He was the third African American to be elected to the Senate since the end of Reconstruction (1877).

In 2004, he was specifically elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican Alan Keyes in the first U.S. Senate race in which the two leading candidates were African Americans. While campaigning for the U.S. Senate, Obama gained national recognition by delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. In the speech, Obama wove a personal narrative of his biography with the theme that all Americans are connected in ways that transcend political, cultural, and geographical differences. Approximately, five years later, he was elected to the Office of President of United States.

Also, in 2009, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”