US President Barack Obama will leave office in January having failed to end the conflicts he inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan, settling instead for greatly reducing US involvement in each. And he will pass on the woes of a raging civil war in Syria that he has been helpless to stop. Historians will grapple with whether Obama's forward-looking diplomatic achievements, like the Iran nuclear deal and rapprochement with Cuba, will outweigh his failings.
IBTimes UK looks back at the best photos taken during the outgoing president's final year in office.
5 January 2016: US President Barack Obama sheds a tear while delivering a statement on steps the administration is taking to reduce gun violence in the East Room of the White House in WashingtonCarlos Barria/Reuters
4 February 2016: US President Barack Obama poses with University of Alabama football player and Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DCMandel Ngan/AFP18 February 2016: Clark Reynolds, aged 3, is greeted by US President Obama during a Black History Month celebration at the White House in Washington, DCPete Souza/The White House18 February 2016: Barack and Michelle Obama greet 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History MonthOfficial White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson21 March 2016: Cuban President Raul Castro raises US President Barack Obama's hand during a meeting at the Revolution Palace in HavanaNicholas Kamm/AFP23 March 2016: US President Barack Obama dances tango during a state dinner hosted by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri at the Centro Cultural Kirchner as part of President Obama's two-day visit to Argentina, in Buenos AiresCarlos Barria/ ReutersUS President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama perform a reading of the children's book 'Where the Wild Things Are' for children gathered for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on 28 March 2016Yuri Gripas/Reuters20 April 2016: Michelle Obama takes questions from children for Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DCChip Somodevilla/Getty Images22 April 2016: Barack Obama, Prince William, and Michelle Obama talk with Prince George at Kensington Palace in London just before bedtimePete Souza/The White House25 April 2016: German chancellor Angela Merkel looks through a device next to US President Barack Obama as they tour the Hanover Industrial FairChristian Charisius/ AFP 30 April 2016: US President Barack Obama says 'Obama out!' at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner in WashingtonYuri Gripas/Reuters27 May 2016: A baby cries as US President Barack Obama holds it during his visit at Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, enroute to his Hiroshima trip, in Iwakuni, JapanCarlos Barria/Reuters27 May 2016: US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after laying a wreath in front of the cenotaph to offer a prayer for victims of the atomic bombing in 1945 at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in HiroshimaKimimasa Mayama/AFP27 May 2016: US President Barack Obama hugs an atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori as he visits Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, JapanCarlos Barria/Reuters4 July 2016: US President Barack Obama congratulates his daughter Malia on her birthday during the Independence Day celebration at the White House in WashingtonYuri Gripas/Reuters9 July 2016: US President Barack Obama and Great Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron chat prior to the meeting of the heads of states of the North Atlantic Council (NAC), during the NATO summit in Warsaw, PolandWojtek Radwanski/AFP27 July 2016: US President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton embrace on stage during Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSaul Loeb/AFPUS President Barack Obama's dogs Sunny and Bo arrive to board Air Force One for travel to Massachusetts for the family's annual holiday at Martha's Vineyard, from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 6 August, 2016Jonathan Ernst/ReutersUS President Barack Obama speaks with residents as he tours a flood-affected area in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on 23 August 2016Nicholas Kamm/AFPRussian President Vladimir Putin meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on 5 September 2016Alexei Druzjinin/AFPUS President Barack Obama boards Air Force One for travel to Philadelphia and New York from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 13 September 2016Carlos Barria/ ReutersUS President Barack Obama watches as Michelle Obama embraces former president George Bush, accompanied by his wife Laura, while participating in the dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, on 24 September 2016Astrid Riecken/Getty ImagesUS President Barack Obama wears a traditional blanket and hat given to him during the 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on 26 September 2016Saul Loeb/AFPUS President Barack Obama holds 10-month-old Brooks Breitwieser as he greets supporters after speaking to an overflow room during a Hillary for America campaign event for Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the Capital University Field House in Columbus, Ohio on 1 November 2016Saul Loeb/AFPUS President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands during a transition planning meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC on 10 November 2016Jim Watson/ AFPUS President Barack Obama (C) listens to Eleni Banou, Ministry of Culture director of Ephorate of Antiquities for Athens in front of the Propylaia during a tour of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece on 16 November 2016Brendan Smialowski/AFPUS President Barack Obama addresses a press conference with the German Chancellor after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin on 17 November 2016Tobias Schwarz/AFPUS President Barack Obama is welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel upon his arrival at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany on 17 November 2016Fabrizio Bensch/ReutersEllen DeGeneres wipes away tears as her citation is read before being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on 22 November 2016Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesUS President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L) in the East Room of the White House in Washington on 22 November 2016Carlos Barria/ReutersUS President Barack Obama attends the 94th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellips in Washington, DC on 1 December 2016Ron Sachs/Getty ImagesUS President Barack Obama speaks about counter-terrorism during his visit to MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Central Command and US Special Operations Command, in Tampa, Florida on 6 December 2016Kevin Lamarque/ReutersUS President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC in what could be the last press conference of his presidency on 16 December 2016Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesUS President Barack Obama addresses troops with First Lady Michelle Obama at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kailua on 25 December 2016Nicholas Kamm/AFPUS President Barack Obama prepares to deliver remarks at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam's Kilo Pier in Honolulu, Hawaii on 27 December 2016Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
