4 January 2013 Last updated at 00:07

In pictures: White House images of 2012

US President Barack Obama hugs former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on the floor of the House of Representatives before delivering his State of the Union address 24 January 2012

US President Barack Obama hugged former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on the floor of the House of Representatives as he arrived to deliver the annual State of the Union speech. About one year earlier, the Democratic congresswoman had been wounded in the head during a mass shooting.

US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and French President Francois Hollande watch the Champions League final at Camp David, Maryland 19 May 2012

During a break in the G8 summit, the president watched the Champion's League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich with Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso

US President Barack Obama asks service members and their families try on 3D glasses before a White House screening of Men In Black 3, Washington DC, 25 May 2012

When a group of US service personnel came to a White House viewing of Men In Black 3, the president asked them to try on their 3D glasses as he made a short speech.

US President Barack Obama hugs First Lady Michelle Obama after she introduces him at a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa 15 August 2012

Barack Obama hugged his wife, Michelle, at a campaign rally in Iowa. A very similar photograph was tweeted by the Obama campaign as news of his victory was breaking. It soon became the most tweeted image ever.

US President Barack Obama takes the hand of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the bodies of four Americans killed in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, return to the US at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland 14 September 2012

The president takes the hand of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the bodies of four Americans killed during an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, return to the US. Ambassador Christopher Stevens was among the dead. The attack became the focus of a political row over who in the administration knew what and when.

US President Barack Obama prepares for the presidential debates with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and Ron Klain in Henderson, Nevada 2 October 2012

In October, the president took time off the campaign trail to practise for a series of highly-anticipated presidential debates with Mitt Romney. He prepared with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who was recently nominated to replace Hillary Clinton as the next secretary of state.

US President Barack Obama pretends to be caught in Spiderman's web when the son of a White House aide sees him outside the Oval Office after trick-or-treating at Halloween, Washington DC, 26 October 2012

The president pretends to be caught in Spiderman's web when the son of a White House aide ensnares him outside the Oval Office. The little boy had been trick-or-treating earlier in the day.

US President Barack Obama hugs the first lady as US networks project that he has been re-elected Chicago, Illinois 6 November 2012

Barack Obama shares a hug with the first lady as US TV networks begin to project that he has won the election and will serve a second term as president of the United States.

The president meets congressional leaders to discuss the fiscal cliff

The president meets congressional leaders in the Oval Office to discuss an eleventh-hour deal to avert a combination of tax rises and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. He returned early from a family holiday in Hawaii to secure the deal.

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In pictures: White House images of 2012

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