If you’re asking who was the US president in 1999, you’re looking for Bill Clinton. But that name carries a lot of baggage depending on who you ask. 1999 was a weird, transitional year for America. We were obsessed with the "Y2K bug" eating our hard drives, Britney Spears was everywhere, and in the Oval Office, William Jefferson Clinton was fighting for his political life while simultaneously presiding over one of the most explosive economic booms in human history.
He was the 42nd president. A Democrat from Arkansas. A Rhodes Scholar with a penchant for jazz saxophone and a complicated relationship with the truth. By the time January 1, 1999, rolled around, Clinton had already been in office for six years, but he was currently sitting right in the middle of a literal trial in the Senate.
The impeachment drama that defined the year
The year started with a bang, and not the good kind. On January 7, 1999, the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton formally began in the U.S. Senate. If you weren’t around then, it’s hard to describe how much this smothered the news cycle. It was inescapable. The charges? Perjury and obstruction of justice. It all stemmed from his deposition in a civil lawsuit filed by Paula Jones, which eventually led to the discovery of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton was only the second president in history to be impeached at that point. (Andrew Johnson was the first, and we've added more to that list since).
The atmosphere was toxic. Republicans, led by figures like Newt Gingrich (who actually stepped down as Speaker just before the year started) and Henry Hyde, argued that the President had undermined the rule of law. Democrats countered that it was a partisan witch hunt over a private mistake. Honestly, the public was mostly just exhausted. By the time the Senate acquitted him on February 12, 1999, his approval ratings were actually strangely high—around 60% to 70%. People liked the economy more than they disliked his personal failings.
The 1999 economy: A gilded age for the internet
While the politicians were screaming at each other in D.C., the rest of the country was getting rich—or at least it felt that way. 1999 was the absolute peak of the Dot-com bubble.
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Bill Clinton’s presidency in 1999 is inseparable from the "Goldilocks economy." It wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold. It was just right. We’re talking about a 4.1% unemployment rate. That’s essentially full employment. The federal budget actually had a surplus of $124 billion. Think about that for a second. The government was actually making more than it spent. That feels like ancient history now.
Technology was moving fast. Clinton signed the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (also known as Gramm-Leach-Bliley). This was a huge deal. It repealed parts of the Glass-Steagall Act, allowing banks, securities firms, and insurance companies to merge. Critics today, like Joseph Stiglitz, often point to this moment as a catalyst for the 2008 financial crisis, but in 1999, it was hailed as a way to modernize the American economy.
NATO and the Kosovo War
The world didn't stop turning because of the Lewinsky scandal. In March 1999, Clinton committed U.S. forces to a NATO-led bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. The goal was to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. It was a controversial move because it didn't have explicit UN Security Council backing, and it lasted 78 days.
It was a "clean" war in the eyes of the administration—meaning no American combat casualties—but it created massive tension with Russia and China. This was the era of the "Clinton Doctrine," the idea that the U.S. should intervene to prevent human rights abuses, even if it meant stepping on the toes of national sovereignty.
Life under the 42nd President
What was it actually like to live in Clinton's America in '99?
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It was a time of strange optimism mixed with a new kind of fear. In April, the Columbine High School massacre happened. It was a gut-punch to the national psyche. Clinton had to pivot from being the "Economist-in-Chief" to the "Comforter-in-Chief." He pushed for more gun control, specifically the closure of the "gun show loophole," but he faced massive pushback from the NRA.
Meanwhile, the "Bridge to the 21st Century"—a phrase Clinton loved—was being built on the bones of the early internet. He was the first president to really have to deal with the digital divide.
- He signed executive orders to help get schools online.
- The Department of Justice was deep into an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.
- Napster launched in June 1999, and the music industry began its slow-motion collapse.
Surprising facts about the 1999 Presidency
Most people remember the blue dress or the surplus, but there’s a lot of nuance that gets lost in the "Who was the US president in 1999" trivia.
For starters, Clinton was incredibly active on the international trade front. In November 1999, his administration reached a landmark agreement with China that paved the way for their entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). This changed the global economy forever. It’s the reason almost everything in your house is made in China today. At the time, it was seen as a win for "free trade," but many labor unions felt betrayed.
Also, the 1999 State of the Union address happened while he was literally on trial. He stood before the very people who were trying to remove him from office and didn't mention the impeachment once. He talked about Social Security and the surplus. It was a masterclass in compartmentalization.
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The shadow of 2000
As the year wound down, the focus shifted to who would replace him. Vice President Al Gore was the presumptive nominee for the Democrats, trying to distance himself from Clinton's scandals while hugging his economic record. On the other side, a Governor from Texas named George W. Bush was gaining steam with a "Compassionate Conservatism" platform.
The year ended with a massive sigh of relief. On December 31, 1999, Clinton stood at the Lincoln Memorial for the Millennium celebration. People were terrified the power grids would fail at midnight because of Y2K. Clinton had appointed John Koskinen to oversee the Y2K conversion, and it worked. The clocks struck twelve, the lights stayed on, and Bill Clinton entered his final full year as president.
Key takeaways for researchers
If you're studying this era or just curious about the 42nd president, keep these three points in mind:
- Impeachment wasn't the end. Despite being the first elected president to be impeached, Clinton's power didn't vanish. He remained highly effective at retail politics and maintained high approval ratings until he left office.
- The Surplus was real but fleeting. The 1999 budget surplus was a result of tax hikes in 1993, a massive tech boom, and spending caps. It didn't last long into the 2000s due to tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- The Era of "Big Government is Over". This was Clinton's mantra. He was a "New Democrat," meaning he moved the party toward the center, embracing welfare reform and free trade, which alienated the traditional left but won over the suburbs.
To get a better sense of how Clinton’s 1999 shaped today, you should look into the National Archives digital library or read "The Survivor" by John F. Harris, which is widely considered one of the best biographies of his presidency. You can also watch the 1999 State of the Union on C-SPAN’s archives to see his "Teflon" persona in action.
Understanding who was president in 1999 is about more than a name; it’s about understanding the last moment of American "normalcy" before the world changed on 9/11.