U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro during the official memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, December 10, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The U.S. and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations since the Cuban Revolution more than 50 years ago. Click through the gallery for more handshakes that have made history:
Historic handshakes —
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro during the official memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, December 10, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The U.S. and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations since the Cuban Revolution more than 50 years ago. Click through the gallery for more handshakes that have made history:
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Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness as First Minister Peter Robinson looks on at the Lyric Theatre on June 27, 2012, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Historic handshakes —
Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness as First Minister Peter Robinson looks on at the Lyric Theatre on June 27, 2012, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Paul Faith/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, left, shakes hands with Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai on July 21, 2008, in Harare after the signing of a deal between Zimbabwe's opposition and ruling party, paving the way for full-scale talks.
Historic handshakes —
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, left, shakes hands with Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai on July 21, 2008, in Harare after the signing of a deal between Zimbabwe's opposition and ruling party, paving the way for full-scale talks.
DESMOND KWANDE/AFP/Getty Images
Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, meets with Moammar Gadhafi on May 29, 2007, in Sirte, Libya.
Historic handshakes —
Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, meets with Moammar Gadhafi on May 29, 2007, in Sirte, Libya.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Prince Charles shakes hands with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe during Pope John Paul II's funeral in St. Peter's Square on April 8, 2005, in Vatican City.
Historic handshakes —
Prince Charles shakes hands with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe during Pope John Paul II's funeral in St. Peter's Square on April 8, 2005, in Vatican City.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
U.S. President Bill Clinton stands behind PLO leader Yasser Arafat, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin as the two shake hands on October 25, 1995. Rabin and Arafat shook hands for the first time after Israel and the PLO signed a historic agreement on Palestinian autonomy in the occupied territories.
Historic handshakes —
U.S. President Bill Clinton stands behind PLO leader Yasser Arafat, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin as the two shake hands on October 25, 1995. Rabin and Arafat shook hands for the first time after Israel and the PLO signed a historic agreement on Palestinian autonomy in the occupied territories.
Stringer/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, left, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time before summit talks on nuclear disarmament at the villa Fleur D'Eau a Versoix near Geneva, Switzerland, on November 19, 1985.
Historic handshakes —
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, left, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time before summit talks on nuclear disarmament at the villa Fleur D'Eau a Versoix near Geneva, Switzerland, on November 19, 1985.
Scott Stewart/AP
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin shake hands after signing the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty as U.S. President Jimmy Carter watches at the White House on March 26, 1979.
Historic handshakes —
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin shake hands after signing the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty as U.S. President Jimmy Carter watches at the White House on March 26, 1979.
Ya'akov Sa'ar/GPO/Getty Images
During a thaw in the Cold War, Commander of the Soviet crew of Soyuz, Alexei Leonov, left, and commander of the American crew of Apollo, Thomas Stafford, shake hands on July 17, 1975, in space, somewhere over West Germany, after Apollo-Soyuz docking maneuvers.
Historic handshakes —
During a thaw in the Cold War, Commander of the Soviet crew of Soyuz, Alexei Leonov, left, and commander of the American crew of Apollo, Thomas Stafford, shake hands on July 17, 1975, in space, somewhere over West Germany, after Apollo-Soyuz docking maneuvers.
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Chinese Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Richard Nixon in Peking (now called Beijing), on February 21, 1972, during Nixon's historic visit to China.
Historic handshakes —
Chinese Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Richard Nixon in Peking (now called Beijing), on February 21, 1972, during Nixon's historic visit to China.
Keystone/Getty Images
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, left, shakes hands with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria, on June 3, 1961, while meeting for talks.
Historic handshakes —
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, left, shakes hands with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria, on June 3, 1961, while meeting for talks.
Ron Case/Getty Images
Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon during a press reception in Washington in April 1959. Relations with Cuba soon soured after the revolutionary Castro took the U.S. island neighbor into the Soviet orbit.
Historic handshakes —
Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon during a press reception in Washington in April 1959. Relations with Cuba soon soured after the revolutionary Castro took the U.S. island neighbor into the Soviet orbit.
Keystone/Getty Images
The United Kingdom's Winston Churchill (from left), U.S. President Harry Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin trade handshakes during the Potsdam conference in July 1945, where they negotiated the post-World War II landscape.
Historic handshakes —
The United Kingdom's Winston Churchill (from left), U.S. President Harry Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin trade handshakes during the Potsdam conference in July 1945, where they negotiated the post-World War II landscape.
Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images
Near the end of World War II, U.S. infantrymen shake hands with Russian soldiers on the broken bridge over the Elbe River after the link-up at Torgau, Germany, on April 27, 1945.
Historic handshakes —
Near the end of World War II, U.S. infantrymen shake hands with Russian soldiers on the broken bridge over the Elbe River after the link-up at Torgau, Germany, on April 27, 1945.
Allan Jackson/Getty Images
Adolf Hitler shakes hands with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at Hotel Dressen in Bad Godesberg, Germany, on Septermber 22, 1938. The two met to discuss the German occupation of Sudetenland, part of what was then Czechoslovakia. Overtures to make peace with Nazi Germany failed, and soon after, the world was at war.
Historic handshakes —
Adolf Hitler shakes hands with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at Hotel Dressen in Bad Godesberg, Germany, on Septermber 22, 1938. The two met to discuss the German occupation of Sudetenland, part of what was then Czechoslovakia. Overtures to make peace with Nazi Germany failed, and soon after, the world was at war.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images