A Democrat, he was elected on a programme of reducing the federal deficit by cutting military spending and reforming taxation, while increasing investment in education, training, and infrastructure. He appointed his wife Hillary to head the administration’s health-care taskforce; her plans to provide health insurance for all Americans were rejected by Congress in 1994. Abroad, he sought to underpin Russia’s reform economy and to maintain trade links with China, despite its poor human rights record. During 1994 Clinton agreed with Russian leader Boris Yeltsin not to keep their nuclear weapons constantly aimed at each other’s countries. He lifted the trade embargo on Vietnam and pledged to work towards the creation of a trans-Pacific free-trade zone. Following mid-term elections in 1994, Clinton’s position was weakened as the Republicans gained control of the Senate. In 1996 he authorized the bombing of strategic targets in Iraq in response to Iraqi violations of a UN-imposed no-fly zone above Kurdish areas. He was re-elected in 1996. In 1999 he was impeached on counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about his sexual relationship with a young White House trainee, but was found not guilty by the Senate.

His wife, Hillary (Diane) Rodham Clinton (1947– ), was a Democratic senator for New York (2001–09) and Secretary of State (2009–13). She sought the 2008 Democratic nomination for President in 2008, narrowly losing to Barack Obama. She was successful in gaining the nomination in 2016, but lost the election to the populist and unpredictable Republican candidate, Donald Trump.