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President Obama hosted a state dinner Tuesday for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is the first female head of state to be honored.

Obama presented Merkel with the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a president may bestow. A elegant dinner of 206 guests included architect Helmut Jahn and conductor Christoph Eschenbach, plus diplomats and members of the Cabinet, Congress and Bundestag. Obama and Merkel, toasted to freedom.

 “For many years, I dreamt of freedom,” she remembered, saying neither dictatorship nor oppression, “can keep down the forces of freedom for long, she said.”
See more photos of Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on the next few pages.  

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Obama and Michelle welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer.
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Obama and Michelle welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer.
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Obama and Michelle welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer.
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Obama and Michelle welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer.

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Obama Hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a state dinner.

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Obama presents Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Medal of Freedom.

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Obama presents Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Medal of Freedom.

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Obama Hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a state dinner.