The New York Observer Politicker
March 18, 2010
Chris Keane/Reuters
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama's former bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is his secretary of state. President Obama and Mrs. Clinton fought perhaps the most polarizing nomination battle in decades, but in recruiting her for his cabinet, Mr. Obama chose to turn a rival into a partner.
Mrs. Clinton brings to the job a distinctive background and unique skills. As first lady, she traveled the world for eight years, visiting more than 80 countries, not only meeting with foreign leaders but also visiting villages, clinics and other remote areas that rarely appear on a president's itinerary. Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher called Mrs. Clinton "a naturally gifted diplomat." She also served as a senator from New York, elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2006.
Mrs. Clinton is seen as fiercely loyal to Israel, which can be both a plus and a minus, Middle East experts say. While her pro-Israel record as a senator from New York might cause her to be viewed with suspicion in the Arab world, it could give her credibility to ask Israel to make tough choices for peace. Mrs. Clinton staked a position during the primaries to the right of Mr. Obama on Iran. In 2007, she voted in favor of a measure asking President Bush to declare Iran's 125,000-member Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization.
On her first trip as secretary, Mrs. Clinton traveled in February 2009 to Seoul, where she warned that a succession battle in North Korea could complicate nuclear negotiations with that country's government. With it, she broke an informal taboo: Diplomats do not talk publicly about what comes after Kim Jong-il, the convalescing dictator who turned his isolated country into a nuclear rogue state.
The question is whether Mrs. Clinton made a beginner's error that could upset other players in the negotiations, like China. Or whether she showed refreshing candor -- the kind of approach that could shake loose what has been a diplomatic quagmire for the last eight years.
In July, Mrs. Clinton presented a major foreign policy address of sweeping scope in an effort to recapture the limelight after a period in which she nursed both a broken elbow and the perception that the State Department had lost influence to an assertive White House.
Still, her aides and people at the White House dismissed suggestions that Mrs. Clinton had been shunted to the sidelines. Her relationship with Mr. Obama is strong, they said, and she remains an influential voice in all key debates.
On Aug. 4, Mrs. Clinton arrived in Kenya for an 11-day Africa tour, a visit that was largely eclipsed by former President Bill Clinton's dramatic trip to North Korea, which resulted in the release of two American journalists.
Mrs. Clinton was born on Oct. 26, 1947, and raised in Park Ridge, Ill. She graduated from Wellesley and holds a J.D. from Yale University. She is a former partner of Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark.
Highlights From the Archives
Diplomatic Memo
An Uncommon Résumé in an Unusual Time
Hillary Rodham Clinton in many ways has less experience and expertise than past secretaries of state, but her selection has electrified diplomats.
December 3, 2008usNewsMagazine
Mrs. Triangulation
The parallels and contrasts between the Hillary Rodham Clinton and Robert F. Kennedy are considerable.
October 2, 2005magazineNewsARTICLES ABOUT HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Iran Dispute Becomes Focus of Clinton’s Russia Trip
In a tart public clash over Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the planned opening of a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran would send the wrong signal.
March 18, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: ARMS CONTROL AND LIMITATION AND DISARMAMENT, RUSSIA, UNITED STATES, MEDVEDEV, DMITRI A
News Analysis
Opportunity in a Fight With Israel
A dispute could shore up President Obama’s credibility as a peacemaker by showing that he has the fortitude to push Israelis and Palestinians toward an agreement.
March 16, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, PALESTINIANS, EAST JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, NETANYAHU, BENJAMIN, OBAMA, BARACK, BIDEN, JOSEPH R JR
Two Drug Slayings in Mexico Rock U.S. Consulate
The White House responded angrily to deadly attacks that appeared to be the first on U.S. officials and their families by Mexico’s drug cartels.
March 14, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, MURDERS AND ATTEMPTED MURDERS, FOREIGN SERVICE, DRUG ABUSE AND TRAFFIC, JUAREZ (MEXICO), CALDERON, FELIPE, OBAMA, BARACK
Clinton Rebukes Israel on Housing Announcement
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Israel’s plans for new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem “a deeply negative signal” about Israel-American relations.
March 12, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE, EAST JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, NETANYAHU, BENJAMIN, OBAMA, BARACK, BIDEN, JOSEPH R JR
Clinton Presses Region to Recognize Honduras
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton repeated her call for more countries to recognize the new government of Honduras.
March 6, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: COUPS D'ETAT AND ATTEMPTED COUPS D'ETAT, UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, HONDURAS, LOBO SOSA, PORFIRIO
A Changed U.S. House to Vote on Armenian Genocide
As members of a House committee prepared to vote yet again on a resolution condemning as genocide the mass killing of Armenians starting in 1915, both Armenian supporters of the resolution and Turkish opponents said Wednesday that the ground had shifted since the last such vote.
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Chile Says Rebuilding May Cost Tens of Billions of Dollars
As the government employed helicopters and boats to extend aid to earthquake-battered regions, President Michelle Bachelet began to grapple with the enormous cost of rebuilding the country.
March 3, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: TIDAL WAVES AND TSUNAMIS, EARTHQUAKES, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES, CHILE, BACHELET, MICHELLE
I.H.T. OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
An American in Brazil
Hillary Clinton's visit recognizes Brazil as the most powerful country in South America and a rising global power.
March 3, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, BRASILIA (BRAZIL), BRAZIL
Clinton Urges Talks on the Falkland Islands
At the start of a five-day tour of Latin America, the secretary of state pressed Argentina and Britain to work toward a resolution of their long-held claims for control of the islands.
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Quake Overshadows Clinton Tour of Region
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had hoped to use the tour partly to address regional tensions.
March 1, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LATIN AMERICA, IRAN, BRAZIL, OBAMA, BARACK
Despite Pressure, China Still Resists Iran Sanctions
Beijing, with a history of opposing sanctions on other nations, continues to pursue diplomacy on the subject of Iran’s nuclear program.
February 26, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES DEFENSE AND MILITARY FORCES, DEFENSE AND MILITARY FORCES, EMBARGOES AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, NUCLEAR WEAPONS, IRAN, CHINA, SECURITY COUNCIL, STATE DEPARTMENT, OBAMA, BARACK
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Talking-Cure Diplomacy
Therapeutic diplomacy, not just rational negotiation, is the way forward in the Middle East.
February 26, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, PALESTINIANS, WEST BANK, ISRAEL, GAZA STRIP, OBAMA, BARACK, CLINTON, BILL, MITCHELL, GEORGE J
As Saudi Women Meet Clinton, No Talk of Rights
The students declined the secretary of state’s invitation to raise questions about women’s rights at the site of an exchange with a Bush administration official in 2005.
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DIPLOMATIC MEMO
Iran Policy Now More in Sync With Clinton’s Views
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has relished taking the lead in seeking support for U.N. sanctions.
February 17, 2010Clinton Issues Another Warning to Iran
At the end of a regional visit, the secretary of state said that Iran’s program might set off a nuclear arms race.
February 17, 2010
Clinton Raises U.S. Concerns of Military Power in Iran
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the U.S. feared Iran’s government was being supplanted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Quotation of the Day
That is how we see it. We see that the government in Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the Parliament is being supplanted and that Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON, at a town-hall meeting of students in Qatar. [A1]
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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah played host to Hillary Rodham Clinton at his desert camp, where the two watched television and chatted over a buffet lunch.
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Bit of a Stir as Clinton Strays From Script on Mideast Peace
The State Department says Hillary Rodham Clinton was just using shorthand, but some people wonder if she accidentally divulged a strategy.
February 5, 2010LETTER FROM EUROPE
U.S. Slights a Disunited Europe
Behind President Obama's decision to skip a United States-European Union summit meeting in Madrid are signs of U.S. exasperation with E.U. squabbling.
February 4, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: SARAJEVO (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA), BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, TURKEY, EUROPEAN UNION, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, OBAMA, BARACK
EDITORIAL
Iran, After the Deadline
Since Iran has failed to stop enriching uranium, it is time for President Obama and other leaders to ratchet up the pressure with tougher sanctions.
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U.N. Mission Head in Afghanistan Met With Taliban Envoys
Kai Eide, the U.N. representative, spoke with members of the Taliban leadership this month to discuss the possibility of peace talks, officials said.
January 29, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: AFGHANISTAN, TALIBAN, UNITED NATIONS, KARZAI, HAMID, EIDE, KAI, MUTAWAKIL, WAKIL AHMED
As Nations Meet, Clinton Urges Yemen to Prove Itself Worthy of Aid
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s diplomatic whirlwind came on the sidelines of two days of conferences, on Yemen and Afghanistan.
January 28, 2010Bloomberg to Hire Ex-Clinton Strategist
The move of Howard Wolfson from national politics to municipal government is designed to inject new blood into City Hall and maintain the mayor’s profile as he enters a lame-duck period.
January 26, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, CITY HALL, WOLFSON, HOWARD, BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL R
Agreement on Effort to Help Haiti Rebuild
Concerned about corruption and wobbly leadership, international donors agreed on a 10-year plan that would create a better capital city and that the government said would cost $3 billion.
January 26, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: HUMANITARIAN AID, EARTHQUAKES, FOREIGN AID, UNITED STATES, HAITI
China Rebuffs Clinton on Internet Warning
The Obama administration said it supported the secretary of state, as she put further pressure on Beijing to change its Internet policies.
January 23, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CENSORSHIP, COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET, CHINA
EDITORIAL
A Good Fight
China’s response to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech calling for an end to Internet censorship showed that its government is getting nervous.
January 23, 2010China Rebuffs Clinton on Internet Warning
Denouncing a speech against Internet censorship by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, China showed it was ready to fight back on the issue.
January 23, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CENSORSHIP, COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET, CHINA
Clinton Urges Global Response to Internet Attacks
The secretary of state said on Thursday that there should be consequences for nations that engage in cyberattacks.
January 22, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET, CHINA
Aid Urged for Groups Fighting Internet Censors
Five United States senators want the government to move ahead with plans to provide $45 million to help people in other countries evade Web restrictions.
January 21, 2010MORE ON HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CENSORSHIP, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION, FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL NETWORKING (INTERNET), COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET, IRAN, CHINA, UNITED STATES, STATE DEPARTMENT, BROWNBACK, SAM
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Milestones: Hillary Rodham Clinton
An interactive timeline of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life and career.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton’s White House Schedules
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While the future Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton grew up in Illinois, her family ties are in many ways stronger in Scranton, Pa.
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Traveling with one candidate, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, as the campaign goes national.
Full Name: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Party: Democratic
Political Office: Secretary of State
Business/Professional Experience: Partner, Rose Law Firm (Little Rock, AR), 1979-1992; U.S. Senator for New York, 2001-2008
Date of Birth: October 26, 1947
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Education: B.A., Wellesley
College, 1969; J.D. Yale University, 1973
Spouse: former President Bill Clinton; married 1975
Children: daughter, Chelsea; born 1980
Religion: Methodist
Home: Chappaqua, NY
Party: Democratic
Political Office: Secretary of State
Business/Professional Experience: Partner, Rose Law Firm (Little Rock, AR), 1979-1992; U.S. Senator for New York, 2001-2008
Date of Birth: October 26, 1947
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Education: B.A., Wellesley
College, 1969; J.D. Yale University, 1973
Spouse: former President Bill Clinton; married 1975
Children: daughter, Chelsea; born 1980
Religion: Methodist
Home: Chappaqua, NY
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