Former US President Barack Obama was visibly moved as his wife Michelle Obama saluted his work during the opening of the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
He appeared to wipe away a tear as the former first lady hailed his achievements in office, including his efforts to expand healthcare and his attainment of a Nobel Peace Prize.
The latter remark was widely interpreted as a jibe at his successor, Donald Trump, who has coveted the same accolade during his own time in office.
Living former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Joe Biden attended the event but Trump, who has long feuded with the Obamas, was not invited.
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
The Chicago attraction, a monument to the eight years the couple spent in the White House, has been in the works since Obama, the 44th president, left the Oval Office a decade ago.
The Obamas chose the Jackson Park neighbourhood on the South Side for the 20-acre campus, near the home where they lived before moving to the White House.
Obama said he hoped the centre would “remind us what we can achieve when we embrace our shared responsibilities as citizens”.
Michelle Obama used her speech to address her husband directly and salute his resilience. “Barack, you gotta look at me,” she said, drawing laughter from her audience. “Eight years in the crucible and not once did you melt from the heat.”
Her husband had done “the people’s work”, she went on to say, touting his record on the economy and the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, alongside his achievements on healthcare and the Nobel prize.
Barack Obama had been held to a “higher standard” as America’s first black president, she added. She told her husband he had battled “lies about your birthright, your faith, your patriotism”.
When he took the microphone, Barack Obama addressed the emotions of the day, saying of his wife: “She knew she was going to mess me up, and she did it anyway.”
Obama, who was president from 2009-17, told visitors that the centre had been planned as a “vibrant, living celebration of community”.
Like his wife, he did not mention Trump by name, but made pointed remarks that were interpreted by analysts as rebukes of the current administration.
He suggested that America was currently experiencing “anger and vision” but that Americans were “looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect”.
Other dignitaries attending Thursday’s event included former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who were both in office during Obama’s tenure.
Artists including Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Common, Marc Anthony, U2’s Bono and The Edge performed, as well as Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.
Rock legend and hometown hero Eddie Vedder, the Illinois-born frontman of Pearl Jam, performed an original song he wrote.
US presidents traditionally open libraries following their tenure in office. Some serve as simple repositories for papers and key artefacts from their namesake administration, while others have grander ambitions as museums and cultural destinations.
The Obama centre combines elements of a museum and reading room with community centre amenities such as a playground, basketball court, recording studio and public library.
But the project was not without its problems. Its 225ft (67m) high monolithic architectural centrepiece has drawn mixed reviews.
The public park area allotted to the centre sparked local opposition and legal battles.
The privately funded project – with a reported $850m (£641m) pricetag – also faced cost overruns and delays.
Fears from local residents that the attraction would accelerate gentrification on the South Side added to the controversy.
But supporters said the new attraction would boost tourism to Chicago and was a fitting tribute to the nation’s first black president. (BBC News)
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