Franklin Delano Roosevelt (, his own pronunciation, or ) (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), commonly known as
FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the
President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. A
Democrat, he won a record four
presidential elections and dominated his party for many years as a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of
worldwide economic depression and
total war. His program for relief, recovery and reform, known as the
New Deal, involved a great expansion of the role of the federal government in the economy. As a dominant leader of the Democratic Party, he built the
New Deal Coalition that brought together and united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, African Americans, and rural white Southerners in support of the party. The Coalition significantly realigned American politics after 1932, creating the
Fifth Party System and defining
American liberalism throughout the middle third of the 20th century.