Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served as the 67th United States Secretary of State, under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013, overseeing the department that conducted the Foreign policy of Barack Obama. She was preceded in office by Condoleezza Rice, and succeeded by John Kerry. She is also the only former First Lady of the United States to become a member of the United States Cabinet. Within a week after the November 4, 2008, presidential election, President-elect Obama and Clinton discussed over telephone the possibility of her serving as U.S. Secretary of State in his
Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State she viewed women's rights and human rights as critical for U.S. security interests, as part of what has become known as the "Hillary Doctrine". Former State Department director and coordinator Theresa Loar said in 2011 that, "I honestly think Hillary Clinton wakes up every day thinking about how to improve the lives of women and girls. And I don't know another world leader who is doing that." In turn, there was a trend of women around the world finding more opportunities, and in some cases feeling safer, as the result of her actions and visibility. A mid-2012 Pew Research study