Barack Obama Elected First Black President of the United States

Mr Obama built a decisive electoral college majority by winning states that had voted Republican in previous cycles, including Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina, on the strength of an unusually large and well-funded field operation. He addressed a crowd of more than 200,000 people in Chicago's Grant Park, telling them that change had come to America.

The result arrived amid the worst financial crisis in generations, and the president-elect immediately faced pressure to name an economic team. Governments across Africa, Europe and Asia sent congratulations within hours, with celebrations reported in Kenya, where his father was born.