AMERICAN President Barack Obama is preparing to step down on Friday after eight years in power.
As his tenure comes to an end the media and US citizens have been looking back over time since he took on the role in 2009.
During his presidency, White House photographer Pete Souza took almost two million photos of Obama.
Here, we present just a few of those images.
They include snapshots of historic meetings with world leaders as well as tender moments with his family and light-hearted scenes with staff and visitors.
It has been an emotional week for President Obama as he prepares to leave office.
In his farewell speech he paid tribute to his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia.
Speaking of his wife he said she had been his “best friend” throughout their 25 years together and had made the White House “a place that belongs to everybody”.
Here’s a look through the iconic images with his original captions (all pictures courtesy of the White House and Pete Souza, unless stated otherwise)
2009
Jan. 20, 2009: “President-elect Barack Obama was about to walk out to take the oath of office. Backstage at the U.S. Capitol, he took one last look at his appearance in the mirror.”</p>
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Jan. 21, 2009: “This was his first morning in the Oval Office as President of the United States. He was reading some briefing material before a meeting.”</p>
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2010
March 21, 2010: “President Barack Obama talks to a Member of Congress on the phone in the Oval Office. Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro works in the background.”
March 23, 2010: “President Barack Obama embraces Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after signing the health insurance reform bill in the East Room of the White House.”
April 27, 2010: “President Barack Obama poses for a photo with a patron at Jerry’s Family Restaurant, a diner in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.”
May 19, 2010: “President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wait in the Map Room of the White House, before welcoming President Felipe Caldern of Mexico and his wife, Mrs. Margarita Zavala, on the South Lawn of the White House.”
June 24, 2010: “President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have lunch at Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington, Virginia.”
June 26, 2010: “President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron trade bottles of beer to settle a bet they made on the U.S. vs. United Kingdon World Cup Soccer game, during a bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada.”
July 3, 2010: “Residents greet President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama upon their arrival at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.”
July 6, 2010: “President Barack Obama shoots baskets on the White House basketball court with Justin Friedlander and his family. Friedlander, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March, 2009, has launched an initiative called Justin’s Quest, in which he will shoot 40,000 basketball shots, one for every person diagnosed with a primary brain tumor each year in the United States.”
July 8, 2010: “President Barack Obama waves to the crowd at a grassroots event for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan at the Folly Theater Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.”
Aug. 9, 2010: “President Barack Obama puts his toe on the scale as Trip Director Marvin Nicholson tries to weigh himself during a hold in the volleyball locker room at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.”
2011
May 1, 2011: “Much has been made of this photograph that shows the President and Vice President and the national security team monitoring in real time the mission against Osama bin Laden. Some more background on the photograph: The White House Situation Room is actually comprised of several different conference rooms. The majority of the time, the President convenes meetings in the large conference room with assigned seats. But to monitor this mission, the group moved into the much smaller conference room. The President chose to sit next to Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command, who was point man for the communications taking place. With so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was jammed into a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this cramped spot in the corner.”
May 23, 2011: “This was one of the great trips of the year, albeit brief, when we visited Ireland in May. This rope line in Moneygall was particularly fun as people reacted so jubilantly to the President and First Lady. It was somewhat unusual, though, in that the sun kept coming in and out, and at times it was even pouring rain.”
May 29, 2011: “The President visited Joplin, Missouri, following a devastating tornado. Here he greets Hugh Hills, 85, in front of his home. Hills told the President he hid in a closet during the tornado, which destroyed the second floor and half the first floor of his house.”
Sept. 11, 2011: “Chuck Kennedy captured this scene with a remote camera as the President and First Lady, along with former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, paused at the North Memorial Pool of the National September 11 Memorial in New York City. The North Memorial pool sits in the footprint of the north tower, formerly 1 World Trade Center.” (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
Nov. 24, 2011: “I photograph a lot of presidential phone calls from the Oval Office. But rarely is the light like this, backlit and reflecting back from a briefing paper. On Thanksgiving Day, the President made phone calls to 10 U.S. military service members — two each from the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy — to thank them for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.”
2012
January 1, 2012: “A nice way to celebrate the New Year for the President was to jump in the ocean in his native state of Hawaii. He was on his annual Christmas vacation with family and friends, and went swimming at Pyramid Rock Beach in Kaneohe Bay.”
April 18, 2012: “We were doing an event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. Before speaking, the President was looking at some of the automobiles and exhibits adjacent to the event, and before I knew what was happening he walked onto the famed Rosa Parks bus. He sat in one of the seats, looking out the window for only a few seconds.”
May 1, 2012: “For the President, this was one of the most poignant moments of his first term. He was visiting wounded warriors in the intensive care unit at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. He had just presented a Purple Heart to Sgt. Chase Haag, who had been injured by an IED just hours before. Sgt. Haag was covered with a blanket and it was difficult to see how badly he was injured. He was also seemingly unconscious, or perhaps just asleep. The President whispered in his ear so not to wake him. Just then, there was a rustling under the blanket and Sgt. Haag, eyes still closed, reached his hand out to shake hands with the President. ‘I’ll never forget that moment,’ someone else in the room later told me.”
July 14, 2012: “The President delivers remarks in the pouring rain at a campaign event in Glen Allen, Va. He was supposed to do a series of press interviews inside before his speech, but since people had been waiting for hours in the rain he did his remarks as soon as he arrived at the site so people could go home to dry off .”
November 15, 2012: “The President had just met with the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team, who because of a previous commitment had missed the ceremony earlier in the year with the entire U.S. Olympic team. The President suggested to McKayla Maroney that they recreate her ‘not impressed’ photograph before they departed.”
2013
January 21, 2013: “The President and First Lady wave to supporters as they ride in the inaugural parade. I had asked the President if I could ride in the presidential limousine and the President joked, ‘But Michelle and I were planning to make out.'”
2014
May 24, 2014: “This photograph was from the annual White House Science Fair. It shows the President posing with Girl Scout Troop 2612 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I think the eight-year-old girls ÐAvery Dodson, Natalie Hurley, Miriam Schaffer, Claire Winton and Lucy Claire SharpÐare called ‘Brownies’. They had just shown the President their exhibit: a Lego flood proof bridge project. The fair celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.”
June 9, 2014: “The President sits for a 3D portrait being produced by the Smithsonian Institution. There were so many cameras and strobe lights flashing but the end result was kind of cool.”
Sept. 17, 2014: “‘Don’t make rabbit ears’, the President said to a group of students before taking a photo with them. Which of course some of them couldn’t resist doing. I especially love the girl with her arm wrapped around the President’s arm. The students were from an elementary school at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Nov. 15, 2014: “The President holds a koala backstage prior to the G20 Welcome to Country Ceremony at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center in Brisbane, Australia.”
Nov. 19, 2014: “Lawrence Jackson captured the President busting out in laughter as he and the First Lady recorded a holiday video message in the Map Room of the White House.” (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
2015
March 27, 2015: “The First Lady snuggled against the President during a video taping for the 2015 World Expo in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.” (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
April 9, 2015: “The President’s wave aligns with a rainbow as he boards Air Force One at Norman Manley International Airport prior to departure from Kingston, Jamaica.”
June 4, 2015: “At the President’s insistence, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes brought his daughter Ella by for a visit. As she was crawling around the Oval Office, the President got down on his hands and knees to look her in the eye.”
June 8, 2015: “We were at the G7 Summit in Krün, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the leaders and outreach guests to make their way to a bench for a group photograph. The President happened to sit down first, followed closely by the Chancellor. I only had time to make a couple of frames before the background was cluttered with other people.”
June 11, 2015: “We had just stopped by the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park and we were already driving away underneath the stadium. The President asked the Secret Service to stop the motorcade when he spotted The Racing Presidents (they compete against each other in a running race during every game). My vehicle was 100 feet ahead so I jumped out and ran back in time to catch them in a group photo for posterity.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 17, 2015: “The President carries the twin boys of Katie Beirne Fallon, Director of Legislative Affairs, into the Oval Office just a few months after they were born.”
Sept. 21, 2015: “The President exchanges a wave with Alya Dorelien Bitar, one-year-old daughter of Maher Bitar, the outgoing National Security Council Director for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, and his wife, Astrid Dorelien, during a family photo in the Oval Office.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 4, 2015: “The President greets families of firefighters during the reading of names at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md.”
Oct. 23, 2015: “Afternoon autumn light bathes the President as he works at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 30, 2015: “This is the first time the same child has made two appearances in the Year in Photos. But it was difficult to not again include Ella Rhodes, daughter of Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, after the President lifted her in her elephant costume that she was wearing for a Halloween event at the White House.”
Oct. 30, 2015: “The President and First Lady react to a child in a pope costume and mini popemobile as they welcomed children during a Halloween event on the South Lawn of the White House.”
Nov. 17, 2015: “The President talks with Captain Vince Sibala during a tour of the BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) in Manila Harbor, Philippines. The ship was a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter acquired by the Philippines after it was decommissioned.”
Dec. 4, 2015: “The President acquiesced to a selfie with 11-year-old Jacob Haynes and four-year-old James Haynes after taking a family photograph with departing White House staffer Heather Foster.”
2016
Feb. 16, 2016: “President Obama reacts as his putt falls just short during an impromptu hole of golf with staffers Joe Paulsen, left, and Marvin Nicholson after the U.S.-ASEAN Summit at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif.”
March 18, 2016: “I spend a lot of time every year in the Situation Room, which is not my favorite room to work in because it’s so difficult to move around. Here the President convenes a National Security Council meeting.”
April 22, 2016: “Originally it was unclear whether I would be permitted to photograph the President meeting Prince George. But the night before, our advance team called and said they had gotten word from Kensington Palace that they would allow me access to make candid photographs during their visit. Afterwards, this photograph garnered the most attention but at the time all I could think was how the table at right was hindering my ability to be at the optimum angle for this moment.”
April 22, 2016: “I was under strict instructions not to exit the helicopter as Queen Elizabeth approached upon the President and First Lady’s arrival. So I positioned myself near the cockpit to make this photograph. It’s kind of a disjointed composition but I thought it showed what the scene is like to be welcomed by the Queen at Windsor Castle.”
June 22, 2016: “The great thing about children is you just don’t know what they will do in the presence of the President. So when David Axelrod stopped by the Oval Office with one of his sons’ family, Axe’s granddaughter, Maelin, crawled onto the Vice President’s seat while the President continued his conversation with the adults. Then at one point, Maelin glanced over just as the President was looking back at her.”
Aug. 24, 2016: “President Obama watches a virtual reality film captured during his trip to Yosemite National Park earlier this summer as Personal Aide Ferial Govashiri continues working at her computer.”
Oct. 31, 2016: “The President was about to welcome local children for Halloween trick-or-treating when he ran into Superman Walker Earnest, son of Press Secretary Josh Earnest, in the Ground Floor Corridor of the White House. ‘Flex those muscles,’ he said to Walker.”
