In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama traveled to more countries than any other president in his first year in office; all told, he has has visited more than 47 countries in the last four years. Besides putting more miles on Air Force One, these trips have offered Obama a chance to do everything from meeting with world leaders to fulfilling campaign promises to picking up a controversial Nobel Peace Prize.

Even before his first bid for the presidency, Obama has been engaged with the world beyond America's borders. In 2008, he made a campaign stop in Berlin that drews hundreds of thousands, during which he called himself a "fellow citizen of the world." He emphasized during his campaign that he was ready to meet with friend and foe alike, saying that "strong countries and strong presidents meet and talk with our adversaries." Once in office, he gave a high-profile speech in Cairo promising a "new beginning" between Muslims and the United States.

Critics, including Republican nominee Mitt Romney, have accused the president of taking an "an apology tour." He has also caught flak for giving an iPod to Britain's Queen Elizabeth and for telling then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in an exchange that he though was private, that he would have "more flexibility" after this year's presidential election.

So is this the end for Number 44? On the eve -- finally -- of the 2012 election, here's a look back at the president's jet-setting ways, from Brazil to Iraq and many, many places in between.

Above, the president and his family greet Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota at the Palacio do Alvorada in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 19, 2011. It was the president's first visit to South America.

White House/Pete Souza

Obama carried on an informal tradition that a U.S. president's first international trip be to America's neighbors to the north. He met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during the one-day trip. Above, the president walks on the tarmac with Michaëlle Jean, Canada's governor general, upon his arrival in Ottowa on Feb. 19, 2009.

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In some countries, the new president was welcomed with open arms. Above, Obama, joined by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy, receives an enthusiastic welcome on April 3, 2009, to Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France. During his visit, the president paid tribute to D-Day soldiers on the 65th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.

White House/Pete Souza

Obama paid tribute to today's troops when he made a surprise visit to Baghdad in 2009. Here, Obama receives a fist-bump from a U.S. soldier as he greets hundreds of U.S. troops during his visit to Camp Victory on April 7, 2009. “It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis,” the president told the crowd.

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On April 7, 2009, Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan toured the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Obama took the two-day visit to Turkey to highlight links between the Muslim-majority country and the United States, and also voiced support of Turkey's move to join the European Union. In an address to the Turkish parliament, he said that the United States "is not and never will be at war with Islam." His comments were derided as overly apologetic for American policies by opponents at home.

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Obama has been criticized during the 2012 campaign for inaction over Mexico's drug war and for failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In 2009, hopes were still high that the new president would bring big changes to America's tense southen border. "The Obama visit is a chance to cement new cooperation," Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said at the time.

Above, Obama speaks with Mexican President Felipe Calderón during a reception and dinner at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City on April 16, 2009, during his 24-hour visit.

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Perhaps Obama's most-discussed early trip was his visit to Cairo in June 2004 to give a speech to the Muslim world, fulfilling a pledge made during his campaign. The speech, titled "A New Beginning," was a call for the United States and the Muslim world to improve relations, with the president stating: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition." At the time, Egyptians across the social spectrum hailed Obama's historic speech, but critics today say that he has not lived up to his lofty language, accusing him of saber-rattling with Iran and backing away from the Middle East peace process, among other charges.

Above, an Egyptian man applauds as he listens to to the speech at a coffee shop in Cairo on June 4, 2009.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recounts a story to Obama, senior advisors David Axelrod, and Valerie Jarrett outside the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo on the day of the speech.

White House/Pete Souza

Although Obama did not visit Israel duing his trip to the Middle East, he did head to Germany to honor victims of the Holocaust. Above, Obama places a flower in the crematorium at Buchenwald on June 5, 2009. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who joined Obama at the former concentration camp, recently addressed Obama on the state of Israel. At the U.S. Holocaust Museum in April, Wiesel told the president, "I hope you understand, in this place, why Israel is so important."

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Obama also visited Russia that year as part of a series of moves to strengthen relations between Washington and Moscow. In an interview with Russian television, Obama said that Russia "remains one of the most powerful countries in the world and has, I think, enormous potential for being a force for stability and prosperity in the international community." Today, Russia's increasing hostility to U.S. policies, including the end of the Nunn-Lugar nuclear agreement, have caused critics to brand Obama's attempt at a Russian "reset"  a failure.

Here, Obama lays a wreath at the Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia on July 6, 2009.

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

Obama met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time when he traveled to the Vatican, where the two discussed both foreign policy and social issues. Above, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama exchange gifts with Pope Benedict XVI in his library at the Vatican on July 10, 2009.

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While on an official nine-day, four-nation Asia tour, Obama broke his first presidential travel record, visiting more foreign countries in his first year in office than any other president. Above, Obama tours the Great Wall on Nov. 18, 2009, outside Beijing, China.

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After a year in office, Obama picked up another honor, winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Critics charged that the choice was a poor one, as the president was running two U.S. wars at the time and ramping up drone attacks against suspected al Qaeda members. Above, Obama and Michelle dance during the 2009 Nobel Banquet in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, 2009.

White House/Pete Souza

Although India was reportedly quite fond of his predecessor, the country welcomed Obama in 2010 for a strategic visit during an Asia trip that included Indonesia and South Korea, and Japan. He encountered bumpier waters in Seoul, where negotiations with Lee Myung-bak failed to produce n expected free trade agreement (it was announced the next month).

Here, Obama and Michelle, along with President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her husband, Dr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, greet guests during the state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, in New Delhi on Nov. 8, 2010.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Obama eats a green tea ice cream bar during his visit to the Great Buddha of Kamakura at the Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura, Japan, on Nov. 14, 2010.

Obama's hectic presidential schedule can lead to some grueling flights. Despite the distance, the president's trips are usually just a few days, and sometimes even less -- in 2011, Obama had to cut a 24-hour trip to Ireland short. He did have time, however, to enjoy a pint of Guinness in Moneygall, the birthplace of his great-great-great grandfather, on May 23.

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Obama and Michelle then headed back to London, where they met with another famous couple: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his new wife Catherine at Buckingham Palace on May 24, 2011.

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As the election loomed, Obama's foreign trips dwindled rapidly. He's taken only a handful of foreign trips in 2012, the first one in March, for a Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul to discuss how to prevent nuclear terrorism. Here, Obama uses binoculars on March 25 to look at North Korea from an observation in the demilitarized zone, which separates the two Koreas. 

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The president also revisited Afghanistan this year -- this time, to call the troops home. On May 1, Obama made a surprise trip to Kabul to sign a strategic partnership agreement that outlined terms for bilateral relations after U.S. troops depart the country in 2014. Afghanistan has received relatively little attention in the current campaign cycle, though tens of thousands of American soldiers and marines remain.

Above, Obama boards Air Force One at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, as he departs for Washington on May 1, 2012.

White House/Pete Souza

If Obama's first four years are any indication, the president could easily shatter records for presidential travel, should he win a second term (George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited 74 countries each while in office). Whether he'll have that chance will be decided -- hopefully -- on Nov. 6.

Here, Obama and Michelle wave from Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for Moscow, Russia on July 5, 2009. Will America be saying goodbye to them on Tuesday?

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza