Who Is She?:
Hillary Rodham Clinton was born October 26, 1947 in Chicago. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. She worked for the Children's Defense Fund, served on the staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings, and taught law at the University of Arkansas. She served as the First Lady of Arkansas before becoming First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Her husband, Bill Clinton, was the 42nd President of the United States. In 2000 and 2006, Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York. She ran for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president.
International Experience:
Clinton's years in the White House involved many overseas trips and the hosting of dignitaries from around the world. She and daughter Chelsea made an unprecedented tour of Africa in 1997. In the Senate, Clinton has been involved in foreign policy issues through her assignment to the Senate Armed Services Committee and her significant involvement with Homeland Security issues. In 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced he would nominate Clinton to serve as his first secretary of state.
Foreign Policy Positions:
Clinton voted in favor of the war in Iraq, but has since been highly critical of the war's execution. She's called for the U.S. to lead renewed international cooperation on Iraq and other issues. Clinton has had mixed positions on free trade issues. She is a leading supporter of Israel and has been outspoken on the failure to end genocide in Darfur. Clinton opposes lifting the embargo on Cuba.
For the last Congressional term, Citizens for Global Solutions gave Senator Clinton an A+ rating on her foreign policy positions.
In a July 2007 debate she clashed with Senator Barack Obama over how to engage rogue states.
Hillary Clinton's Foreign Policy Statements:
- Security and Opportunity for the Twenty-first Century, Clinton's article from Foreign Affairs magazine, November/December 2007
- Foreign affairs statements cataloged on Clinton's official U.S. Senate Web site
- Remarks before the Council on Foreign Relations, October 2006
- Open Letter to President Bush to do More to End the Genocide in Darfur, March 2006
Other Links:
- Hillary for Senate
- Hillary Clinton Forum (unofficial)
- Candidate Profile, from the About Guide to Middle East Issues
- Candidate Profile, from the About Guide to U.S. Politics
- Candidate Profile, from the About Guide to Terrorism Issues