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World-traveller Clinton leaves cabinet post

Says it was an honour to serve as U.S. secretary of state

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/2/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Hillary Rodham Clinton leaves the State Department in Washington for the last time as America's top diplomat. (AP)

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton ended a four-year tenure as secretary of state that made her one of America's most popular public figures, despite leaving on a bitter note amid a partisan feud over the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. John Kerry was sworn in to replace her.

In a letter sent to U.S. President Barack Obama shortly before she left the State Department for the last time Friday in her official capacity, Clinton thanked her former foe for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the opportunity to serve in his administration. Clinton said it had been an honour to be part of his cabinet.

"I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good in the world," she said in the letter.

Clinton shattered records for the number of countries visited by a U.S. secretary of state. The former First Lady, once considered a divisive figure in American politics, leaves office as one of its most popular. But she remained coy about whether she would run for president in 2016.

"I am making no decisions, but I would never give that advice to someone that I wouldn't take myself," she said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. "If you believe you can make a difference, not just in politics, in public service, in advocacy around all these important issues, then you have to be prepared to accept that you are not going to get 100 per cent approval."

Her resignation became effective at 4 p.m. Friday, when Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan swore in John Kerry as the top U.S. diplomat. The former senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate is the 68th secretary of state.

"I'm just very, very honoured to be sworn in and I'm very anxious to get to work," Kerry told reporters after the private ceremony at the Capitol. "I'll be reporting Monday morning at nine o'clock to do my part," he said, but refused to say what global hotspot he would visit first.

Clinton also left office with a slap at critics of the Obama administration's handling of the September attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. She told the AP that critics of the administration's handling of the attack don't live in an "evidence-based world," and their refusal to "accept the facts" is unfortunate and regrettable for the political system.

Clinton said the attack in Benghazi was the low point of her time as America's top diplomat. But she suggested that the furor over the assault would not affect whether she runs for president in 2016.

Clinton spoke to the AP Thursday in her outer office on the seventh floor of the State Department less than 24 hours before she walked out for a final time as boss. She was relaxed but clearly perturbed by allegations from Republican lawmakers and commentators that the administration had intentionally misled the public about whether the attack was a protest gone awry or a terrorist attack, or intentionally withheld additional security for diplomatic personnel in Libya knowing that an attack could happen.

Although she insisted that she has not decided what her future holds, she said she "absolutely" still plans to make a difference on issues she cares about in speeches and in a sequel to her 2003 memoir, Living History, that will focus largely on her years as secretary of state.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 2, 2013 A24

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