The making of a leader Photogallery

01 / 20

US president Barack Obama in Chicago. (AFP Photo)

02 / 20

A man holds a placard - that sums up Obama's journey - in Washington. (Reuters Photo)

03 / 20

Barack Obama with his baseball bat in Hawaii. (AP Photo)

04 / 20

Barack Obama, 10, and his father, also called Barack Obama. Obama's father left the family to study at Harvard when Barack was just two, returning only once. Obama, then 10, never saw his father again. (AP Photo)

05 / 20

Obama as a student of Harvard Law School. (AP Photo)

06 / 20

Barack Obama and his bride Michelle Robinson on their wedding day, Oct 18, 1992, in Chicago. (AP Photo)

07 / 20

Barack Obama teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. After Harvard Law School, Obama returned to Chicago, joined a small civil rights firm, ran a voter registration drive, and lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. (AP Photo)

08 / 20

Barack Obama with family in Chicago. (AFP Photo)

09 / 20

Barack Obama with his daughter Malia in Philadelphia. (AFP Photo)

10 / 20

This April 2008 photo shows Barack Obama playing basketball in the University of North Carolina. (AP Photo)