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Obama nominates John Kerry as secretary of state
US President Barack Obama (l) congratulates Senator John Kerry after nominating him as Secretary of State. PHOTO/Mandel Ngan/AFP
US President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Senator John Kerry as his new secretary of state, as he began to reshape his national security team for a second term clouded by increased global turmoil.
Kerry, 69, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, defeated former presidential candidate and foreign policy sage, will succeed Hillary Clinton, who is stepping down after four years as the top US diplomat.
“Over these many years, John’s earned the respect and confidence of leaders around the world,” Obama said at the White House as he announced Kerry’s nomination, his first second-term cabinet pick.
“He is not going to need a lot of on the job-training.”
“I think it’s fair to say that few individuals know as many presidents and prime ministers or grasp our foreign policies as firmly as John Kerry.”
Kerry stepped up following the withdrawal of UN ambassador Susan Rice, the early favorite for the post, who was caught in the political aftermath of the attack of the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya in September.
Obama said that Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, had played a central role in every US foreign policy debate for 30 years and that his “entire life” had prepared him for his new role.
Kerry saw life overseas as the son of a Cold War foreign service officer, served as a navy officer in Vietnam, and spent years wrestling with foreign policy issues in the Senate.
