Seven United States presidents have made presidential visits to Northern Europe. Richard Nixon became the first incumbent president to visit a Northern European country when he went to Iceland in 1973. The first trips were an offshoot of the general easing of the geo-political tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. To date, every nation in the region has been visited at least twice: Finland (7), Denmark (4), Latvia (3), Estonia (2), Iceland (2), Norway (2), Sweden (2), and Lithuania (2).
President | Dates | Countries | Locations | Key details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Nixon | May 31 – June 1, 1973 | ![]() | Reykjavík | Met with President Kristján Eldjárn and Prime Minister Ólafur Jóhannesson and French President Georges Pompidou. [1] |
Gerald Ford | July 29 – August 2, 1975 | ![]() | Helsinki | Attended opening session of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Met with the Heads of State and Government of Finland, Great Britain, Turkey, West Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Also met with Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. Signed the Final Act of the Conference. [2] |
Ronald Reagan | October 9–12, 1986 | ![]() | Reykjavík | Summit meeting with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Also met with President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. [3] |
May 25–29, 1988 | ![]() | Helsinki | Met with President Mauno Koivisto and Prime Minister Harri Holkeri. [3] | |
George H. W. Bush | September 8–9, 1990 | Summit meeting with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Issued joint statement on the Persian Gulf crisis. Also met with President Mauno Koivisto. [4] | ||
July 8–10, 1992 | Attended Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe summit meeting. [4] | |||
Bill Clinton | July 6, 1994 | ![]() | Riga | Met with the presidents of the Baltic states. [5] |
March 20–21, 1997 | ![]() | Helsinki | Summit meeting with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Also met with President Martti Ahtisaari. [5] | |
July 11–12, 1997 | ![]() | Copenhagen | Met with Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. [5] | |
November 1–2, 1999 | ![]() | Oslo | State visit. Held discussions with Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik [6] Attended commemorative ceremony for former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin; [5] also met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel. [7] | |
George W. Bush | June 14–15, 2001 | ![]() | Gothenburg | Attended U.S.-European Union Summit Meeting. Met with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Göran Persson. [8] |
November 22–23, 2002 | ![]() | Vilnius | Met with the presidents of the Baltic states. [8] Gave a historic speech in the Town Hall Square "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America." [9] | |
May 6–7, 2005 | ![]() | Riga | Met with the presidents of the Baltic states. [8] | |
July 5–6, 2005 | ![]() | Kastrup, Fredensborg, Copenhagen | Met with Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. [8] | |
November 27–28, 2006 | ![]() | Tallinn | Met with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. [8] | |
November 28–29, 2006 | ![]() | Riga | Attended the 19th NATO Summit Meeting. [8] | |
Barack Obama | October 2, 2009 | ![]() | Copenhagen | Met with Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Attended the 13th Olympic Congress meeting to lobby for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. [10] |
December 9–11, 2009 | ![]() | Oslo | Met with King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Received the Nobel Peace Prize. [10] | |
December 17–19, 2009 | ![]() | Copenhagen | Attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009. [10] | |
September 4–5, 2013 | ![]() | Stockholm | Met with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Also met with leaders of the Nordic countries. Attended an event honoring Raoul Wallenberg at the Great Synagogue of Stockholm. [10] | |
September 3–4, 2014 | ![]() | Tallinn | Met with the presidents of the Baltic states. Visited U.S. and Estonian members of the military. Delivered a speech at Tallinn Airport with Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas. | |
Donald Trump | July 15–16, 2018 | ![]() | Helsinki | Attended the summit meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also met with President Sauli Niinistö. |
Joe Biden | July 10-12, 2023 | ![]() | Vilnius | Attended the 2023 NATO Summit, met with the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. |
July 12-13, 2023 | ![]() | Helsinki | Attended the U.S.–Nordic Leaders' Summit. Met with President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. |
The United States Government Publishing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies.
There have been 41 United States presidential visits to Canada by 14 presidents over the past century. As the U.S. president is both head of state and head of government, these visits have taken many forms, ranging from formal state visits to official visits, working visits, or private visits.
Fifteen presidents of the United States have made thirty-four presidential visits to Mexico. The first visit by an incumbent president to Mexico was made in 1909 by William Howard Taft. It was only the second time in U.S. history that a president left the country while in office.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The first trip by an incumbent president to Eastern Europe was made by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. The first trip by an incumbent president to Northern Asia was made by Gerald Ford in 1974, also to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of U.S.–Soviet Détente during the Cold War. The first presidential visits to other Eastern European countries occurred during this era of easing geo-political tensions as well.
Several United States presidents have made presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand. The first visit by an incumbent to these Australasian nations was made in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. His three-day five-city visit to Australia was intended as a show of gratitude to the Australian nation for its then emphatic support for the Vietnam War. Four presidents have traveled there since. Prior to arriving in Australia, Johnson visited New Zealand. He went primarily to shore up support for the war in Vietnam. Only one sitting president has visited since.
Eleven United States presidents and three presidents-elect have made thirty-four presidential visits to Central America. The first visit by an incumbent president to a country in Central America was made in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt. The trip, to Panama, was the first international presidential trip in U.S. history, and signaled the start of a new era in how presidents conducted diplomatic relations with other countries. In 1928, Herbert Hoover, during the time when he was president-elect, visited the region during his historic "good will" trip, to Central and South America.
Nine presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to North Africa. The first trips by a sitting president to countries in North Africa were those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the five countries in the region, only Libya has not yet been visited by an American president.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to the Middle East. The first trips by an incumbent president to countries in the Middle East were those by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. To date, 16 visits have been made to Egypt, 12 to Saudi Arabia, 11 to Israel, six to both Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, four to Iran, three to the Palestinian Territories, two to both Kuwait and Syria, one to Bahrain, Georgia, Oman, Qatar, and to the United Arab Emirates. No incumbent American president has yet visited Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Eleven United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to South America. The first trip was made by Herbert Hoover in 1928. During this tour he delivered twenty-five speeches in ten Central and South American countries, almost all of which stressed his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor."
There have been twenty-four United States presidential visits to Southeast Asia by ten U.S. presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first incumbent president to visit a Southeast Asian country when he visited the Philippines in 1960. Since then, every president, except John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, has travelled to the region. The Philippines, a former U.S. colony (1902–1946) and a close U.S. ally, is the most visited Southeast Asian country with ten visits, followed by Indonesia with nine, and Vietnam with eight. Of the eleven sovereign states in the region, all but East Timor have been visited by a sitting American president.
Twelve United States presidents have made presidential visits to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The first visit by an incumbent president to the United Kingdom was made in December 1918 by Woodrow Wilson, and was an offshoot of American diplomatic interactions with the Principal Allied Powers at the conclusion of World War I prior to the Paris Peace Conference. The first visit by an incumbent president to the island of Ireland was made in June 1963 by John F. Kennedy when he visited the Republic of Ireland. To date, 40 visits have been made to the United Kingdom and 11 to Ireland.
Eight presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to South Asia. The first trip by a sitting president to South Asia was by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. Of the eight countries in the region, only 4 of them have been visited by a sitting American president: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The other four countries, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have never been visited by a sitting American president.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to East Asia. The first presidential trip to a country in East Asia was made by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Since then, all presidents, except John F. Kennedy, have traveled to one or more nations in the region while in office.
Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Southern Europe. Woodrow Wilson became the first incumbent president to visit a Southern European country in January 1919 in the aftermath of World War I. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions during World War II and then the Cold War.
Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Western Europe. The first visits by an incumbent president to countries in Western Europe were made in 1918 and 19 by Woodrow Wilson in the aftermath of World War I. He was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions following World War II and during the Cold War. To date, 41 visits have been made to France, 31 to Germany, 21 to Belgium, 11 to Switzerland, six to Austria, and five to the Netherlands. No president has yet visited Liechtenstein, Luxembourg or Monaco.