Hillary Clinton Appointed Secretary of State

World | December 1, 2008, Monday // 00:00
Hillary Clinton Appointed Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton Appointed Secretary of State US President-elect Barack Obama announced on Monday his former rival New York Senator Hillary Clinton as his pick for the position of US Secretary of State. Photo by BGNES

US President-elect Barack Obama announced his former rival New York Senator Hillary Clinton as his pick for the position of US Secretary of State, leading information agencies reported on Monday.

Obama called the former First Lady a woman of "tremendous stature" who had his "complete confidence".

Although the two were involved in a bitter contest and often clashed during the nomination race, Clinton went on to campaign for Obama in the race for the White House.

Hillary Clinton stated on Monday that leaving the Senate would be difficult for her, but said she believed that the best way for her to continue to serve the country was by joining Obama's administration.

"Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century," she said at the news conference.

Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton did not attend the event, but issued a statement expressing support for his wife.

"In her service to the people of New York and our nation, Hillary has demonstrated the knowledge, passion, resilience, and capacity to learn that our country needs at this critical time. She loves being a Senator from New York, but as she has in all the thirty-seven years I've known her, she answered the call to serve. I commend President-Elect Obama for asking her to be a part of a great national security team. America will be well-served," Bill Clinton said in the statement.

As part of an agreement with Obama, former President Bill Clinton has agreed to publicly disclose the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation in order to clear the way for his wife to become Secretary of State, Democrats close to both sides said earlier.

Bill Clinton has never before revealed his contributors, but, according to the New York Times, the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar and a tycoon who is the son-in-law of Ukraine's former authoritarian president are among them.

The disclosure of contributors is one of nine conditions Clinton signed off on during discussions with Obama's representatives, the New York Times further reported.

Clinton has agreed to incorporate his Global Initiative separately from his foundation so that he has less direct involvement. The initiative, which fights disease, poverty and climate change, would no longer hold annual meetings outside of the United States or accept new contributions from foreign governments.

The former President has also agreed to submit his personal speeches and business activities for review first to State Department ethics officials and, if necessary, to the White House counsel's office.

At a news conference in Chicago, Obama also announced nominations for other key National Security team posts. Robert Gates would remain as Defense Secretary, retired Marine General James Jones was named White House National Security Adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder was nominated as Attorney General and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.

"The time has come for a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges," Obama said.

Asked Monday how he can be sure that his administration composed of former rivals would function as a team and not clash, Obama pointed out that he has assembled a group of "outstanding public servants" who share a core vision for the country.

"I am very confident that each of these individuals are not going to be leaving the outstanding work that they are currently doing if they weren't convinced that they could work as an effective team," Obama said, adding that that he would have the final word in setting national security policy.

"The buck will stop with me," Obama stated.

All of the selections are people who have been mentioned often during the last several weeks as likely nominees.

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