Year in review: Top tweets for 2012

This photo of Barack Obama hugging his wife Michelle has become the most retweeted tweet ever. Photo / Twitter/@BarackObama

A President's victorious tweet has beaten a popstar's tribute to a fan as the most retweeted tweet of the year.

Upon winning the race to the White House in November, President Barack Obama tweeted the words "Four more years", accompanied with a photo of Obama embracing his wife.

It was retweeted more than 817,000 times and "favourited" more than 300,000 times, making it the most popular tweet of 2012.

In fact, within hours of being sent, it was the most retweeted tweet ever.

A heart-felt tweet by popstar Justin Bieber was the next most retweeted in 2012.

More than 225,000 people retweeted and another 100,000 people favourited a tweet in September which simply read "RIP Avalanna. i love you".

The tweet was dedicated to six-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died in September from a rare form of brain cancer.

- nzherald.co.nz