Obama nominates Senator John Kerry as secretary of state

 WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Senator John Kerry to be his next secretary of state as he is trying to usher 1 in a new cabinet for his second term starting in January.

Obama made the announcement at the White House with Vice 3 President Joe Biden and Kerry at his side.
"I am very proud to announce my choice for America's next secretary of state, John Kerry," he said. "In a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role."
The president heaped praise on Kerry, noting in particular his service in Vietnam as a war veteran and his personal ties with leaders around the world.
"Having served with valor 4 in Vietnam, he understands that we have a responsibility to use American power wisely, especially our military power," Obama said.
Kerry, 69, won a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. After returning home, he became an anti-war hero.
"Over these many years, John's earned the respect and confidence of leaders around the world. He is not going to need a lot of on-the-job training," Obama said.
"I think it's fair to say that few individuals know as many presidents and prime ministers or grasp our foreign policies as firmly as John Kerry, and this makes him a perfect choice to guide American diplomacy 5 in the years ahead," he added.
First elected to the Senate as a representative of Massachusetts in 1984, Kerry is serving his fifth term in the chamber 6. He was elected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December 2008 after chairman Biden was elected vice president.
A Democrat 7, Kerry launched a bid for the White House in 2004 but lost to then incumbent 8 George W. Bush by a margin 9 of 34 electoral votes.
However, Obama was still grateful for his being invited by Kerry to make a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention held in Boston in July 2004, when he was an unknown senator from Illinois.
"Of course, I also have to say thanks because John invited a young Illinois state senator to address the Democratic convention in Boston," Obama said, calling Kerry "a great friend."
"I've appreciated John's partnership 10 in helping 11 to advance so many of my foreign policy priorities, including the ratification 12 of the New START treaty," he added.
The treaty, which came into force in February 2011, was seen as a tangible 13 result of the Obama administration's reset 14 in relations with Russia.
As a reliable emissary of the administration, Kerry also went to talk Afghan President Hamid Karzai into agreeing to a run-off presidential election in 2009.
And in 2011, he secured the release by Pakistan of a CIA contractor 15 accused of killing 16 two Pakistanis as well as the return of parts of a U.S. stealth helicopter which crashed in an operation inside the South Asian nation in which al-Qaida leader Osama bin 2 Laden 17 was killed.