The Secretary (54 page)

Hillary Clinton’s official portrait on the State Department website, taken in early
2009. She conceded the race for the Democratic nomination on June 7, 2008, and soon
after endorsed and started campaigning for Barack Obama.
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President-elect Obama leaves a Chicago press conference on December 1, 2008, with
Clinton after formally announcing his picks for national security positions in his
administration. Many were surprised by Obama’s choice, including Clinton herself.
There were predictions of drama between the two former rivals.
(AP)

Clinton is sworn in by Vice President Joseph Biden during a ceremonial event in the
Benjamin Franklin room on the eighth floor of the State Department. Standing next
to her are husband and former president, Bill; daughter, Chelsea; and her mother,
Dorothy Rodham.
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The crowds cheered wildly when Clinton arrived at the State Department on the morning
of January 22, 2009, for her first day at work. There was a campaign feel to the event
as she shook hands while people screamed, “We love you, Hillary.” Behind her on the
left, diplomatic security special agent Fred Ketchem, chief of her security, is standing
guard.
(AP)

A polarizing politician in the United States, Clinton had built a worldwide following
as a First Lady and was welcomed like a rock star on her maiden voyage as secretary
of state, which included this stop in Jakarta in February 2009.
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Clinton and her staff believed that public diplomacy was key to improving America’s
image. They planned to beam her into living rooms around the world, starting with
this town hall–format interview on the
Dahsyat
television show in Indonesia on February 18, 2009 (
above
). “Townterviews” were held on every stop of every trip for four years, including
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in January 2010 (
below
).
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Clinton spent a lot of time with varying success repairing America’s frayed ties around
the world and strengthening others, from the gimmicky “reset button” with Russia’s
foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to the more comprehensive approach to ties with China.
She built a close rapport with State Councilor Dai Bingguo; here she greets him at
the State Department in July 2009.
(AP)

During her first months in office, Clinton welcomed almost every foreign leader who
requested a meeting, from close allies to less savory characters, such as Mutassim
Gaddafi (
above
), son of Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Meetings were usually followed with a
statement in the State Department’s seventh-floor Treaty Room.
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Clinton’s deputy chief of staff Jake Sullivan (
above
) first started working for her during the presidential campaign and took on an increasingly
important role in advising, policy making, and messaging during four years at the
State Department. Deputy chief of staff and longtime aide Huma Abedin (
below
) was always by Clinton’s side, doing everything from advising her on cultural issues
in countries such as Pakistan to holding her handbag.
(AP)