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.
To date, 33 visits have been made to Italy, 20 Vatican City, 11 to Spain, eight to Portugal, four to Greece, three to Bosnia and Herzegovina, three to Malta, three to Slovenia, two to Croatia, two to Kosovo, one to Albania, and one to Macedonia (now known as North Macedonia). Three were also made to Yugoslavia prior to its breakup during the early 1990s. Of the present-day nations in (or partly within) the region, all but Cyprus, San Marino, Andorra, Montenegro, and Serbia have been visited by a sitting American president.
President | Dates | Country or territory | Locations | Key details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Woodrow Wilson [1] | January 1–6, 1919 | ![]() | Rome, Genoa, Milan, Turin | Met with King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando. |
January 4, 1919 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Benedict XV. | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt [2] | December 8, 1943 | ![]() | Castelvetrano | Visited Allied military installations. |
December 8, 1943 | ![]() | Valletta | Visited Allied military installations | |
February 2, 1945 | ![]() | Floriana | Attended Malta Conference with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. | |
Dwight D. Eisenhower [3] | December 4–6, 1959 | ![]() | Rome | Informal Visit. Met with President Giovanni Gronchi. |
December 6, 1959 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John XXIII. | |
December 14–15, 1959 | ![]() | Athens | Official Visit. Met with King Paul and Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis. Addressed the Greek Parliament. | |
December 21–22, 1959 | ![]() | Madrid | Met with Generalísimo Francisco Franco. | |
May 19–20, 1960 | ![]() | Lisbon | Official Visit. Met with President Américo Tomás | |
John F. Kennedy [4] | July 1–2, 1963 | ![]() | Rome, Naples | Met with President Antonio Segni, Italian and NATO officials. |
July 2, 1963 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Paul VI. | |
Lyndon B. Johnson [5] | December 23, 1967 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giuseppe Saragat and Prime Minister Aldo Moro. |
December 23, 1967 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Paul VI. | |
Richard Nixon [6] | February 27–28, 1969 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giuseppe Saragat and Prime Minister Mariano Rumor and other officials. |
March 2, 1969 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Paul VI. | |
September 27–30, 1970 | ![]() | Rome, Naples | Official Visit. Met with President Giuseppe Saragat. Visited NATO Southern Command. | |
September 28, 1970 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Paul VI. | |
September 30 – October 2, 1970 | ![]() | Belgrade, Zagreb | State Visit. Met with President Josip Broz Tito. | |
October 2–3, 1970 | ![]() | Madrid | State Visit. Met with Generalissimo Francisco Franco. | |
December 13–14, 1971 | ![]() | Terceira Island | Discussed international monetary problems with French President Georges Pompidou and Portuguese Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano. | |
June 18–19, 1974 | ![]() | Lajes Field | Met with President António de Spínola. | |
Gerald Ford [7] | May 31 – June 1, 1975 | ![]() | Madrid | Met with Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Received keys to city from Mayor of Madrid, Miguel Angel García-Lomas Mata. |
June 3, 1975 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giovanni Leone and Prime Minister Aldo Moro. | |
June 3, 1975 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Paul VI. | |
August 3–4, 1975 | ![]() | Belgrade | Official Visit. Met with President Josip Broz Tito and Prime Minister Džemal Bijedić. | |
Jimmy Carter [8] | June 19–24, 1980 | ![]() | Rome, Venice | Attended the 6th G7 summit. State Visit. Met with President Sandro Pertini. |
June 21, 1980 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
June 24–25, 1980 | ![]() | Belgrade | Official Visit. Met with President Cvijetin Mijatović. | |
June 25–26, 1980 | ![]() | Madrid | Official Visit. Met with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez. | |
June 26–30, 1980 | ![]() | Lisbon | Official Visit. Met with President António Ramalho Eanes and Prime Minister Francisco de Sá Carneiro. | |
Ronald Reagan [9] | June 7, 1982 | ![]() | Rome | State Visit. Met with President Sandro Pertini and Premier Giovanni Spadolini. |
June 7, 1982 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
May 6–8, 1985 | ![]() | Madrid | State Visit. Met with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Felipe González. | |
May 8–10, 1985 | ![]() | Lisbon | State Visit. Met with President António Ramalho Eanes and Prime Minister Mário Soares. Addressed the National Assembly. | |
June 3–11, 1987 | ![]() | Venice, Rome | Attended the 13th G7 summit. Met with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani. | |
June 6, 1987 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
George H. W. Bush [10] | May 26–28, 1989 | ![]() | Rome, Nettuno | Met with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita. |
May 27, 1989 | ![]() | Apostolic Palice | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
December 1–3, 1989 | ![]() | Valletta, Marsaxlokk | Attended the Summit Meeting with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Also met with Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami. | |
July 18–20, 1991 | ![]() | Athens, Souda Bay | Met with Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. Addressed U.S. and Greek military personnel. | |
October 29–30, 1991 | ![]() | Madrid | Met with Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez Marquez and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Attended the opening session of the Middle East Peace Conference. | |
November 6–8, 1991 | ![]() | Rome | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. | |
November 8, 1991 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
Bill Clinton [11] | June 2–4, 1994 | ![]() | Rome, Nettuno | Met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. Visited U.S. Military Cemetery. |
June 2, 1994 | ![]() | apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
July 7–10, 1994 | ![]() | Naples | Attended the 20th G7 summit. Met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. | |
December 2–3, 1995 | ![]() | Madrid | Attended the European Union Summit Meeting. | |
January 13, 1996 | ![]() | Tuzla | Met with President Alija Izetbegović. Addressed U.S. military personnel. | |
January 13, 1996 | ![]() | Zagreb | Met with President Franjo Tudjman. | |
January 13, 1996 | ![]() | Aviano Air Base | Met with U.S. military personnel. | |
July 4–10, 1997 | ![]() | Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Granada | Vacationed with King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia. Attended the 15th NATO Summit Meeting. | |
December 22, 1997 | ![]() | Aviano Air Base | Stopped en route to and from Bosnia-Herzegovina. | |
December 22, 1997 | ![]() | Sarajevo, Tuzla | Met with the Bosnian Collective Presidency and Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavšić. Visited U.S. military personnel. | |
November 20–21, 1999 | ![]() | Florence | Attended conference on Progressive Governance for the 21st Century. | |
June 21–22, 1999 | ![]() | Ljubljana | Met with President Milan Kučan, Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović. | |
June 22, 1999 | ![]() | Skopje | Met with President Kiro Gligorov. Addressed Kosovar refugees and NATO military personnel. | |
June 22, 1999 | ![]() | Aviano Air Base | Addressed U.S. military personnel. | |
July 29–30, 1999 | ![]() | Aviano Air Base | Stopped en route to Sarajevo. | |
March 18, 2000 | ![]() | Aviano Air Base | Stopped en route to India. | |
July 30, 1999 | ![]() | Sarajevo | Attended Stability Pact Leaders Conference. | |
November 19–20, 1999 | ![]() | Athens | State Visit. Met with Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis. | |
November 23, 1999 | ![]() | Pristina, Uroševac, Camp Bondsteel | Met with Kosovar Transitional Council. Addressed the Albanian community and U.S. military personnel. | |
May 30 – June 1, 2000 | ![]() | Lisbon | Attended the U.S.-EU Summit Meeting. Met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. [12] | |
George W. Bush | June 12–13, 2001 | ![]() | Madrid | Met with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister José María Aznar. |
June 16, 2001 | ![]() | Kranj | Attended the summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also met with Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek. | |
July 20–24, 2001 | ![]() | Genoa, Castel Gandolfo, Rome | Attended the 27th G8 summit. Met with Pope John Paul II. Also met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. | |
July 24, 2001 | ![]() | Camp Bondsteel | Addressed U.S. military personnel. | |
May 28, 2002 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | |
May 27–28, 2002 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Attended the NATO Summit Meeting and inaugurated the NATO-Russia Council. | |
March 16, 2003 | ![]() | Terceira Island | Discussed the Iraq crisis with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Barroso. | |
June 4–5, 2004 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. | |
June 4, 2004 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Met with Pope John Paul II. | |
April 6–8, 2005 | ![]() | St. Peter's Basilica | Attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II. | |
April 6–8, 2005 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. | |
June 8–10, 2007 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi. | |
June 9, 2007 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Benedict XVI. | |
June 10, 2007 | ![]() | Tirana | Met with President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha. | |
April 4–5, 2008 | ![]() | Zagreb | Met with President Stjepan Mesić. | |
June 9–10, 2008 | ![]() | Ljubljana | Met with President Danilo Türk and Prime Minister Janez Janša. Attended the EU-US Summit Meeting. | |
June 11–13, 2008 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. | |
June 13, 2008 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Met with Pope Benedict XVI. | |
Barack Obama [13] | July 8–10, 2009 | ![]() | L'Aquila, Rome | Attended the 35th G8 summit. Also met with the leaders of Angola, Algeria, Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and various international organizations. |
July 10, 2009 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Benedict XVI. | |
November 19–20, 2010 | ![]() | Lisbon | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting and the U.S.-EU Summit Meeting. Met with President Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister José Sócrates. | |
March 27, 2014 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Francis. [14] | |
March 27, 2014 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Visited the Roman Colosseum. | |
July 9–10, 2016 | ![]() | Madrid, Rota | Met with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Also met with American military personnel stationed at Naval Station Rota. | |
November 15–16, 2016 | ![]() | Athens | State Visit. Met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Toured Acropolis and Acropolis Museum. | |
Donald Trump | May 23–24, 2017 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. |
May 24, 2017 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Francis. | |
May 25–27, 2017 | ![]() | Taormina | Attended the 43rd G7 summit. | |
Joe Biden | October 29, 2021 | ![]() | Apostolic Palace | Audience with Pope Francis. |
October 29 – November 1, 2021 | ![]() | Rome | Met with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Attended the G20 summit. | |
June 28–30, 2022 | ![]() | Madrid | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting | |
June 13–15, 2024 | ![]() | Borgo Egnazia | Attended the 50th G7 summit. | |
Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore each met (separately) with Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1855, as did Franklin Pierce in November 1857. [15] Ulysses S. Grant met with Pope Leo XIII in the Vatican in 1878, during a world tour after leaving the presidency. [16]
Theodore Roosevelt sought an audience with Pope Pius X in April 1910 while in Rome. The Pope agreed to see him, provided Roosevelt would not call on some Methodist missionaries in Rome. Roosevelt had no intention of meeting the missionaries, but he declined to submit to the pope's conditions and the interview did not take place. [17]
Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton accompanied President George W. Bush to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005.
In political studies, surveys have been conducted in order to construct historical rankings of the success of the presidents of the United States. Ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians and political scientists or popular opinion. The scholarly rankings focus on presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures, and faults. Popular-opinion polls typically focus on recent or well-known presidents.
The current United States Ambassador to the Holy See is Joe Donnelly, who replaced the ad interim Chargé d'Affaires, Patrick Connell, on April 11, 2021. The Holy See is represented by its apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who assumed office on April 12, 2016. The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is located in Rome, in the Villa Domiziana. The Nunciature to the United States is located in Washington, D.C., at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
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.
Six United States presidents have made presidential visits to Sub-Saharan Africa. The first was an offshoot of Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretive World War II trip to French Morocco for the Casablanca Conference. More recently, Barack Obama, the first U.S. president with African American ancestry, visited his father's native Kenya in 2015. Of the 46 African nations identified as sub-Saharan by the United Nations, 14 have been visited by an American president.
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."
Nine United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to the Caribbean since 1928. Franklin D. Roosevelt made the most trips to the Caribbean islands (14), either for vacation or while involved with Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the 13 sovereign countries in the region, four—Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—have not as of yet been visited by an 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.
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.
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).