Super Eco

Chicago native Hillary Clinton is currently the 67th Secretary of State, selected by Barack Obama in 2009 as part of his presidential administration. Born Hillary Diane Rodham in 1947, she had an initially conservative upbringing and was politically active starting in her teenage years. She graduated from Yale Law School in 1973 and married fellow Yale alumnus Bill Clinton in 1975.

She became First Lady in 1993 with her husband's election as the 42nd President of the United States. Her major initiative as First Lady was a controversial health care plan that ultimately failed to pass the U.S. Congress. She maintained a relatively low profile after this public failure, but emerged again as a strong political force with her election to the United States Senate in 2000, representing the state of New York. In her tenure in the Senate, Clinton served on committees for the environment, labor and budget. She voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, which became a major point of contention during Clinton's candidacy for President in 2007 and 2008. Though she lost the Democratic nomination to opponent Barack Obama, she was selected to be Secretary of State by the incoming president, a position she has held since January 21, 2009.

Notable Eco Activity

During her time in the Senate, the League of Conservation Voters gave Clinton a lifetime score of 90%, due to her opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and support of environmental programs. As a member of Wal-Mart's board in the early 1990s, she championed environmental initiatives and urged the corporation to promote more women to management-level positions.

As Secretary of State, Clinton has encouraged developing and industrializing nations to adopt greener energy and production techniques to avoid the same wasteful pitfalls the United States and Japan experienced. Global climate change was the major theme of her first trip abroad, which included visits in Japan, China, Indonesia and South Korea.

During her campaign for U.S. President in 2007 and 2008, she proposed creating 5 million green-collar jobs by 2020, initiating a cap-and-trade system to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and starting a Strategic Energy Fund to promote the use of clean energy. Her work in the Obama administration has initially been a continuation of these environmental strategies.

Related Media

Grist Clinton Factsheet, New York Times article on Clinton's tenure on Wal-Mart board

Famous Quotes

"I have supported a green building fund and green-collar job training with the AFL-CIO that will put a lot of people too work. And it’s important that we do this, because we can create millions of new jobs."

• Hillary Clinton Details

  • Birth Date

    October 26, 1947

  • Born In

    United States

  • Home Page

    http://www.state.gov/secretary/

  • Lives In

    United States

  • Organizations

    Unavailable

  • Occupation

    Secretary of State