Hillary Clinton: Obama’s U.S. Secretary of State
On June 21, 2009, the Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as the 67th United States Secretary of State. It was the first day in office for President Barack Obama and while he was busy engaging himself in several affairs, Hillary Clinton’s nomination for the post as Secretary of State was finally confirmed in the full Senate by a vote of 94-2.
The two senators who opposed the confirmation were Republicans David Vitter of Louisiana and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Prior to the confirmation, hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee commenced on January 13, 2009. By January 15, the said body voted 16-1 to approve Hillary Clinton.
Both Republicans and Democrats in general share the same sentiment that such prompt confirmation was essential for the new president to be able to start with his work in dealing with the current major and critical foreign policy issues such as Iran’s nuclear threats and the increasing violence in the Middle East, particularly the wars in Gaza and Iraq.
As a result of the confirmation from the Senate, Hillary Clinton was sworn in as the 67th U.S. Secretary of State in her office, which is located in the Russell Senate Office Building. Present at the private ceremony was her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and her Senate staff. On the same day, Hillary Clinton resigned from the Senate, submitting her resignation letters to Vice President Joe Biden, president of the Senate; and New York Governor David Paterson.
A few Republicans expressed their concerns over conflicts of interest that may arise considering that the fundraising efforts for Bill Clinton’s foundation included donations overseas. Nevertheless, both parties in Congress greatly supported Hillary Clinton for the post.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Maine East High School and then entered Wellesley College from where she graduated in 1969 with a B.A. degree in political science with departmental honors. Hillary Clinton then obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1973. Back in Yale, she served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Review and Social Action, worked for the Yale Child Study Center, interned with Marian Wright Edelman, and met Bill Clinton, whom she married in 1975.
Following graduation, Hillary Clinton practiced law, working as a staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts and as Consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. She also joined in the impeachment inquiry staff advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal. In 1975, she taught at the University of Arkansas Law School and then joined the Rose Law Firm in 1976. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the board of the Legal Services Corporation. She held the title “First Lady of Arkansas” for twelve years (1979–1981, 1983–1992) when her husband Bill Clinton became governor of the said state twice. Hillary Clinton was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001; she then served as a U.S. Senator from 2001 to 2009. Hillary Clinton was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election but lost to Obama.
- Official State Department biography of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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