--- title: Barack Obama: A Look Back at His First Days in Office description: With President Obama leaving the White House, many of his supporters have grown nostalgic for his eight years in office. canonical: https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-12T19:04:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:11.333Z article:section: Politics og:title: Look Back at Obama's First Week in Office og:description: Photographs from his first days. og:url: https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06d71561ff019fa7/6988b52bcd1bba39ce703902/obama-first-week-in-office-22.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: obama-first-week-in-office-22 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Look Back at Obama's First Week in Office twitter:description: Photographs from his first days. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06d71561ff019fa7/6988b52bcd1bba39ce703902/obama-first-week-in-office-22.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Look Back at Barack Obama's First Week in Office > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Jan 12, 2017 7:04 PM UTC  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laugh together in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laugh together in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Jan 12, 2017 7:04 PM UTC With President Obama leaving the White House, many of his supporters have grown nostalgic for his eight years in office. Obama [gave a farewell address](http://time.com/4631089/barack-obama-farewell-speech-analysis/) in his adopted hometown of Chicago while Michelle Obama [went on the _Tonight Show_](http://motto.time.com/4632607/michelle-obama-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon/) to meet some of her biggest fans and [shared an old family photo](http://time.com/4631306/michelle-obama-barack-obama-throwback-photo/). But as the President prepares for his final days in office, it can be hard to remember how different his first few days were, with the economy in crisis and a contentious election just behind him. Here’s a look back at some photos of Obama’s first few days in office. Pictures are by Callie Shell for TIME and official White House photographer Pete Souza, who were the only photographers with access to him on those days.  President Barack Obama walks into the Oval Office at the White House for his first full day in office on Jan. 21, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  First Oval Office picture of President Barack Obama, on Jan. 21, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama surveys the Cabinet room with family members while touring the White House on his first day in office. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama meets alone with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office on his first full day in office on Jan. 21, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama checks out a portrait of President John Kennedy during an historical tour of the White House residence and grounds in Washington, DC., on Jan. 21, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama receive visitors in the Blue Room at the White House, on Jan. 21, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on the first morning he is President of the United States. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama walks on the Colonnade with David Axelrod and Reggie Love (c) on his first day in office on Jan. 21, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice John Roberts in the Map Room on the ground floor of the White House Residence. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama talks to Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel in the Outer Oval Office of the White House, on Jan. 21, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office shortly after she was confirmed and sworn in on Jan. 21, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama signs executive orders on Guantanamo in the Oval Office of the White House, on Jan. 22, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laugh together in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama at the Daily Economic Briefing in the Oval Office with VP Joe Biden, OMB Director Peter Orszag, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers on Jan. 22, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Obama watches Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' first Press Briefing on television, in his private study off the Oval Office, on Jan. 22, 2009. Joyce N. Boghosian—The White H  The President meets with his national security and intelligence team in the Situation Room of the White House for the first time, on Jan. 23, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama places a phone call at his desk in the Oval Office, on Jan. 23, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have lunch in the Private Dining Room of the West Wing in Washington, DC., on Jan. 23, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama holds a budget meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the West Wing in Washington, DC., on Jan. 23, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama tour the State Dining Room with White House Chief Usher Admiral Stephen "Steve" Rochon, left; Curator William "Bill" Allman and Personal Aide Reggie Love, right, on Jan. 24, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama shoots a basketball during a historical tour of the White House on Jan 24, 2009. Callie Shell for TIME  President Barack Obama calls foreign leaders in the Oval Office of the White House, on Jan. 26, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama attends a lunch with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C, on Jan. 27, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House  President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden greet military personnel during a visit to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 28, 2009 Pete Souza—The White House ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/"},"headline":"Look Back at Barack Obama's First Week in Office","datePublished":"2017-01-12T19:04:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:11.333Z","description":"With President Obama leaving the White House, many of his supporters have grown nostalgic for his eight years in office.","url":"https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/","keywords":["Barack Obama","White House","Michelle Obama","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06d71561ff019fa7/6988b52bcd1bba39ce703902/obama-first-week-in-office-22.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06d71561ff019fa7/6988b52bcd1bba39ce703902/obama-first-week-in-office-22.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"obama-first-week-in-office-22","caption":"President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laugh together in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009.","creditText":"Pete Souza—The White House","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4631909/barack-obama-photos-first-week/","name":"Look Back at Barack Obama's First Week in Office"}}]}] ```