Obama named Clinton as his nominee to the top diplomatic post Monday.

An Illinois native, Clinton graduated from Wellesley College and Yale Law School before embarking on a law career. After employment as a congressional legal council, Clinton moved to Arkansas and later married Bill Clinton, who was elected president in 1992 and 1996, Wikipedia says.

While first lady, Clinton's major initiative, comprehensive healthcare reform, failed in the U.S. Congress. However, she played a major role in establishing the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Foster Care Independence Act.

Scandal dogged the Clinton White House. Clinton remains the only first lady to be subpoenaed, testifying before a federal grand jury about the Clintons' investments in the Whitewater Development Corp. She was never charged in the Whitewater controversy or in several other investigations during her husband's administration.

Clinton traveled to 79 countries during while first lady. In the 1990s, Clinton was a prominent international figure to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban. She also helped to create Vital Voices, a U.S.-sponsored international initiative to help promote women's participation in the political process of their countries, the online encyclopedia said.

Following her eight years as first lady, Clinton moved to New York, where she was elected as U.S. senator for the Empire State in 2000, marking the first time a former first lady ran for public office. In the Senate she initially supported President George Bush's Iraq War Resolution but subsequently opposed the administration on its conduct of the war in Iraq and on most of its domestic issues. She was re-elected in 2006.

In the 2008 contest to garner the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton won more primaries and delegates than any other female candidate in American history, but after a long, bruising campaign, she narrowly lost to Obama in June. Clinton then endorsed Obama and campaigned for his election.