Obama carried on an informal tradition that a U.S. president's first international trip be to America's neighbors to the north. He met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during the one-day trip. Above, the president walks on the tarmac with Michaëlle Jean, Canada's governor general, upon his arrival in Ottowa on Feb. 19, 2009.
In some countries, the new president was welcomed with open arms. Above, Obama, joined by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy, receives an enthusiastic welcome on April 3, 2009, to Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France. During his visit, the president paid tribute to D-Day soldiers on the 65th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.
Obama paid tribute to today's troops when he made a surprise visit to Baghdad in 2009. Here, Obama receives a fist-bump from a U.S. soldier as he greets hundreds of U.S. troops during his visit to Camp Victory on April 7, 2009. "It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis," the president told the crowd.
On April 7, 2009, Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan toured the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Obama took the two-day visit to Turkey to highlight links between the Muslim-majority country and the United States, and also voiced support of Turkey's move to join the European Union. In an address to the Turkish parliament, he said that the United States "is not and never will be at war with Islam." His comments were derided as overly apologetic for American policies by opponents at home.
Obama has been criticized during the 2012 campaign for inaction over Mexico's drug war and for failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In 2009, hopes were still high that the new president would bring big changes to America's tense southen border. "The Obama visit is a chance to cement new cooperation," Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said at the time.
Above, Obama speaks with Mexican President Felipe Calderón during a reception and dinner at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City on April 16, 2009, during his 24-hour visit.
Perhaps Obama's most-discussed early trip was his visit to Cairo in June 2004 to give a speech to the Muslim world, fulfilling a pledge made during his campaign. The speech, titled "A New Beginning," was a call for the United States and the Muslim world to improve relations, with the president stating: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition." At the time, Egyptians across the social spectrum hailed Obama's historic speech, but critics today say that he has not lived up to his lofty language, accusing him of saber-rattling with Iran and backing away from the Middle East peace process, among other charges.
Above, an Egyptian man applauds as he listens to to the speech at a coffee shop in Cairo on June 4, 2009.
Although Obama did not visit Israel duing his trip to the Middle East, he did head to Germany to honor victims of the Holocaust. Above, Obama places a flower in the crematorium at Buchenwald on June 5, 2009. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who joined Obama at the former concentration camp, recently addressed Obama on the state of Israel. At the U.S. Holocaust Museum in April, Wiesel told the president, "I hope you understand, in this place, why Israel is so important."
Obama also visited Russia that year as part of a series of moves to strengthen relations between Washington and Moscow. In an interview with Russian television, Obama said that Russia "remains one of the most powerful countries in the world and has, I think, enormous potential for being a force for stability and prosperity in the international community." Today, Russia's increasing hostility to U.S. policies, including the end of the Nunn-Lugar nuclear agreement, have caused critics to brand Obama's attempt at a Russian "reset" a failure.
Here, Obama lays a wreath at the Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia on July 6, 2009.
While on an official nine-day, four-nation Asia tour, Obama broke his first presidential travel record, visiting more foreign countries in his first year in office than any other president. Above, Obama tours the Great Wall on Nov. 18, 2009, outside Beijing, China.
After a year in office, Obama picked up another honor, winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Critics charged that the choice was a poor one, as the president was running two U.S. wars at the time and ramping up drone attacks against suspected al Qaeda members. Above, Obama and Michelle dance during the 2009 Nobel Banquet in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, 2009.
Although India was reportedly quite fond of his predecessor, the country welcomed Obama in 2010 for a strategic visit during an Asia trip that included Indonesia and South Korea, and Japan. He encountered bumpier waters in Seoul, where negotiations with Lee Myung-bak failed to produce n expected free trade agreement (it was announced the next month).
Here, Obama and Michelle, along with President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her husband, Dr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, greet guests during the state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, in New Delhi on Nov. 8, 2010.
Obama eats a green tea ice cream bar during his visit to the Great Buddha of Kamakura at the Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura, Japan, on Nov. 14, 2010.
As if a 10-day Asian tour weren't enough, Obama headed to Portugal shortly afterward for a NATO meeting to discuss Afghanistan. Obama received high marks from European world leaders, but the picture was not as bright at home, as Democrats lost seats during the 2010 midterm election.
Here, Obama participates in an arrival ceremony with President Cavaco Silva at Belém National Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, on Nov. 19, 2010.
At the start of 2011, Obama found himself in the midst of the Arab Spring, as tyrants were toppled in Egypt and Tunisia and fierce fighting broke out in Libya. During his first visit to South America, Obama announced that U.S. warplanes would particpate in a limited military engagement to help topple Muammar al-Qaddafi. During the visit, Obama addressed the Brazilian people in a speech hailing the country's global prominence and the importance of bilateral trade. Here, Obama, Michelle, and their daughters Sasha and Malia tour the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 20, 2011.
This image captures one of the president's unscripted interactions. According to White House photographer Pete Souza, "Despite security concerns, the president decided to walk into the street to wave to people gathered outside the Cidade de Deus favela community center in Rio de Janeiro. As he was walking, a young boy reached out of a closed door and the president reached over to give him a fist bump."
Above, Obama lights a candle as he visits the memorial to the victims of the Smolensk plane crash at the Field Cathedral of the Polish Military in Warsaw on May 28, 2011. On the same trip, Obama sought to reassure Eastern European allies that cooperation over missile defense with Moscow would not mean that NATO would cede hegemony in the region to Russia.
Obama's hectic presidential schedule can lead to some grueling flights. Despite the distance, the president's trips are usually just a few days, and sometimes even less -- in 2011, Obama had to cut a 24-hour trip to Ireland short. He did have time, however, to enjoy a pint of Guinness in Moneygall, the birthplace of his great-great-great grandfather, on May 23.
Obama and Michelle then headed back to London, where they met with another famous couple: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his new wife Catherine at Buckingham Palace on May 24, 2011.
As the election loomed, Obama's foreign trips dwindled rapidly. He's taken only a handful of foreign trips in 2012, the first one in March, for a Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul to discuss how to prevent nuclear terrorism. Here, Obama uses binoculars on March 25 to look at North Korea from an observation in the demilitarized zone, which separates the two Koreas.
If Obama's first four years are any indication, the president could easily shatter records for presidential travel, should he win a second term (George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited 74 countries each while in office). Whether he'll have that chance will be decided -- hopefully -- on Nov. 6.
Here, Obama and Michelle wave from Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for Moscow, Russia on July 5, 2009. Will America be saying goodbye to them on Tuesday?
