7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7he hold all the states that John Kerry had won in the 2004
election, but he also captured a number of states (e.g.,
Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia) that the
Republicans had carried in the previous two presidential
elections. On election night tens of thousands gathered
in Chicago’s Grant Park to see Obama claim victory.
Shortly after his win, Obama resigned from the Senate.
On Jan. 20, 2009, hundreds of thousands turned out in
Washington, D.C., to witness Obama taking the oath of
offi ce as president. In 2009 he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen inter-
national diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Pres. Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address from the west steps
of the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2009. SMSgt Thomas
Meneguin, U.S. Air Force/U.S. Department of Defense