Joe Biden's journey to the presidency – in pictures
Joe Biden’s political career has been fraught with personal tragedy, and becoming president is the culmination of a path full of challenges
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Joe Biden at 10 years old in 1952
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
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Biden and wife Nelia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1972
Photograph: Bettmann Archive
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Beau Biden, four, plays in the foreground as his father is sworn in as a senator by Senate secretary Frank Valeo, left, in a ceremony at a Wilmington hospital on 5 January 1973. Beau was injured in a December accident that killed his mother and sister. Biden’s father-in-law, Robert Hunter, holds the Bible
Photograph: AP
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Biden with sons Beau, left, and Hunter and his future wife, Jill Jacobs, in an undated photo
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
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Joe Biden and his wife Jill make their way through a crowd after Biden announced his candidacy for president on 8 June 1987
Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
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Biden speaks to Ruth Bader Ginsburg shortly before her supreme court confirmation hearing on 20 July 1993
Photograph: Jennifer Law/AFP/Getty Images
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Al Gore meets Biden prior to Biden endorsing Gore’s bid for president. Picture taken on 25 February 2000
Photograph: Doug Mills/AP
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Biden with senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton before the Democratic presidential primary debate on 26 April 2007
Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
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Senator Joe Biden jogs out to meet Senator Barack Obama during a campaign event for the 2008 presidential election on 23 August 2008 in Springfield, Illinois
Photograph: Jeff Roberson/AP
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Senator Joe Biden appears with his son Beau Biden at the Democratic national convention on 27 August 2008
Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA
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Barack and Michelle Obama and Joe and Jill Biden wave to the crowd after Barack Obama’s presidential acceptance speech at his election night party in Chicago on 4 November 2008
Photograph: Morry Gash/AP
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Children cheer and wave flags as Joe Biden arrives in Pristina, Kosovo, on 21 May 2009
Photograph: Visar Kryeziu/AP
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Barack Obama, Joe Biden and the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, sit with the national security team during the mission against Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011
Photograph: Pete Souza/The White House
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Barack Obama and Joe Biden watch a pre-Olympic exhibition basketball game on 16 July 2012 in Washington DC
Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
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Barack Obama and Joe Biden accept the Democratic nomination on the final day of the national convention on 6 September 2012
Photograph: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
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Candidate Paul Ryan and Joe Biden conclude the vice-presidential debate on 11 October 2012
Photograph: Michael Reynolds/Pool/EPA
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Barack Obama rests a foot on his desk during a phone call as Joe Biden listens in
Photograph: Pete Souza/The White House
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Joe Biden, accompanied by his family, watches an honor guard carry his son’s casket into a church in Wilmington, Delaware. Former Delaware attorney general Beau Biden died of brain cancer on 30 May 2015 at age 46. Standing alongside the vice-president are Beau’s widow, Hallie Biden, left, and his daughter, Natalie, right
Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
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Barack Obama watches as Joe Biden turns to his wife, Dr Jill Biden, after announcing that he will not run for the presidential nomination on 21 October 2015
Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom to Joe Biden during a 12 January 2017 event at the White House
Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a campaign kick-off rally on 18 May 2019 in Philadelphia
Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Joe Biden works the grill during the Polk county Democrats steak fry in Des Moines, Iowa, on 21 September 2019
Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
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Senator Kamala Harris hugs Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Detroit on 9 March 2020
Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Jill Biden, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris greet supporters after the Democratic national convention on 20 August 2020
Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
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Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in the first presidential debate on 29 September 2020
Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
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Joe Biden participates in a virtual meeting with the United States Conference of Mayors at the Queen in Wilmington, Delaware, on 23 November 2020
Photograph: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
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Joe Biden speaks at on Tuesday in New Castle, Delaware
Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
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Joe Biden and Jill Biden arrive at his Biden’s inauguration at the US Capitol on Wednesday in Washington DC
Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Joe Biden hugs the first lady, Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden and daughter Ashley Biden after being sworn in at the US Capitol in Washington on Wednesday
Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP
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Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in Washington
Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
