Obama takes oath of office for second term in quiet ceremony
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United States President Barack Obama takes the official oath at the White House Blue Room during a brief ceremony with his family in Washington, meeting the legal requirement that presidents officially take office on Jan 20. Because that date fell on a Sunday this year, the traditional ceremonies surrounding the start of a president’s term were put off to Monday, which coincides this year with the birthday of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King. -- PHOTO: AFP
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US President Barack Obama, second from right, enters the Blue Room to take the oath of office from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, right, followed by daughters Sasha Obama, left, Malia Obama, second from left, and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House in Washington, DC, on Sunday, Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives to administer the oath to President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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US President Barack Obama (left) enters the Blue Room to take the oath of office from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (right) as first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia (centre) and Sasha (right) look on at the White House in Washington, on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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US President Barack Obama waves after taking the oath of office as his daughters Malia (centre) and Sasha look on in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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US President Barack Obama (left) gets a hug from first lady Michelle Obama after he took the oath of office in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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US vice-president Joseph "Joe" Biden, center, stands alongside US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as his wife Jill Biden, far right, looks on after taking the oath of office during an official swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC on Sunday, Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A vendor holds a figurine head of US President Barack Obama on the National Mall in Washington January 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People gather near the Capitol building in Washington DC Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Ms Christine Boyd, from Atlanta, Georgia, cheers as she watches US President Barack Obama take his second oath of office on a video monitor at the National Mall in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A newspaper is seen near the White House in Washington DC on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A man holds up a sweatshirt near the White House in Washington DC on Jan 20, 2013. US President Barack Obama took the official oath for his second term on Sunday at the White House in a small, private ceremony that set a more subdued tone compared to the historic start of his presidency four years ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
United States President Barack Obama takes the official oath at the White House Blue Room during a brief ceremony with his family in Washington, meeting the legal requirement that presidents officially take office on Jan 20. Because that date fell on a Sunday this year, the traditional ceremonies surrounding the start of a president’s term were put off to Monday, which coincides this year with the birthday of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King. -- PHOTO: AFP
US President Barack Obama, second from right, enters the Blue Room to take the oath of office from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, right, followed by daughters Sasha Obama, left, Malia Obama, second from left, and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House in Washington, DC, on Sunday, Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives to administer the oath to President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
US President Barack Obama (left) enters the Blue Room to take the oath of office from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (right) as first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia (centre) and Sasha (right) look on at the White House in Washington, on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Barack Obama waves after taking the oath of office as his daughters Malia (centre) and Sasha look on in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
US President Barack Obama (left) gets a hug from first lady Michelle Obama after he took the oath of office in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
US vice-president Joseph "Joe" Biden, center, stands alongside US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as his wife Jill Biden, far right, looks on after taking the oath of office during an official swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC on Sunday, Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
A vendor holds a figurine head of US President Barack Obama on the National Mall in Washington January 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People gather near the Capitol building in Washington DC Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Ms Christine Boyd, from Atlanta, Georgia, cheers as she watches US President Barack Obama take his second oath of office on a video monitor at the National Mall in Washington on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A newspaper is seen near the White House in Washington DC on Jan 20, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A man holds up a sweatshirt near the White House in Washington DC on Jan 20, 2013. US President Barack Obama took the official oath for his second term on Sunday at the White House in a small, private ceremony that set a more subdued tone compared to the historic start of his presidency four years ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - A greyer and more solemn-looking US President Barack Obama officially began his second term on Sunday, following a private oath-taking ceremony at the White House.
The quiet ceremony, administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, marked a sharp contrast with the electrifying atmosphere in Washington four years ago when Mr Obama became the first African-American to be sworn-in as the commander-in-chief of the United States.
Hours earlier, Vice-President Joe Biden was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic to sit on the country's highest court. Mr Obama and Mr Biden won re-election convincingly in November against their Republican rivals.
“I did it,” Mr Obama told his younger daughter, Sasha, after a smooth recital of the oath of office. Chief Justice Roberts and Mr Obama fumbled the oath four years ago during the first inauguration, prompting a do-over the next day.
