President Obama's international tour has seen him give a landmark speech in Egypt and hold talks on the global recession with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany. As the President tackles Christian/Muslim relations, commemorates D-Day and prepares some of the most important speeches of his young presidency, writers from The Times have picked out their Top 10 Obama moments. Watch them unfold in the video above and read the analysis, below.

1 The $3.6 trillion budget (February 26, 2009)

I would contend that this was the most profound and revealing moment of Obama’s young presidency. It is a document of breathtaking ambition and cost. It is a manifesto to achieve reform in health car, energy and education all at once. It was a declaration of massive government intervention in the US economy, and a rewriting of the American social contract from Right to Left. Tim Reid, Washington Correspondent

2 The YouTube message to Iran (March 19, 2009)

It took real guts for President Obama to extend the hand of friendship to Iran after 30 years of hostility and mistrust. He chose his moment well, making his address to the Iranian people on the eve of their most important holiday, Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Crucially he went out of his way to offer "mutual respect" and to praise Persian culture and history. His words had an immediate impact in Iran, where millions tuned in to his speech. The regime was caught wrong-footed and has so far shunned his gesture. But Obama broke the ice and has taken the first tentative steps towards ending a painful period for Americans, Iranians and others caught up in this bitter feud. Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor

3 The inaugural address (January 20, 2009)

The inaugural address was the moment that Obama first defined his premiership. He chose, deliberately, not to reach for the high-octane rhetoric that has marked most of his other speeches. He wanted to show gravity and seriousness of purpose, at a very difficult economic time. So there were very few really resonant phrases and it is not the speech that will live long in the memory. The occasion, though, certainly will: people came from all over America and, beyond that, from all over the world to witness the extraordinary inauguration of the first black President of the USA. Phil Collins, Leader Writer

4 Making Hillary Clinton secretary of state (January 21, 2009)

“Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer," advises Don Corleone in The Godfather. Obama’s decision to bury the hatchet with Hillary Clinton after a long, ferocious and often bitter primary race, was freighted with symbolism. Obama repeatedly evoked the “Team of Rivals” assembled by Abraham Lincoln at the moment of America’s greatest crisis, when he brought several erstwhile enemies into his Cabinet. By making Clinton his Secretary of State, Obama killed an entire flock of birds with one stone: recruiting one of the most talented Democratic leaders, neutralising her as a destabilising force, emphasising his Lincoln link, and sending the message that this Administration will not bear grudges, but call on the best at another time of crisis. Ben Macintyre, Writer-at-large

5 Shaking hands with Hugo Chávez (April 17, 2009)

Mr Obama's first encounter with his most vehement foe in Latin America had always promised to be strewn with pitfalls, scrutinised for his stance towards the continent's tide of leftist leaders. In the end, his meeting with Venezuela's Hugo Chávez at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad was to all appearances positively genial. Belying his previous belligerent rhetoric, the socialist leader left his promised "artillery" at home, instead bringing an offer of friendship and even a gift for the new US President. However behind the broad smile and hearty handshake lay barbs as Mr Chávez handed over a copy of The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Mr Obama's gracious acceptance left American conservatives seething. Hannah Strange

6 Saying sorry for ‘screwing up’ (February 3, 2009)

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