Secretary Clinton: Year One

Clinton speaks at the 2009 New York University commencement on May 13 and the Barnard College commencement ceremony just days later.

Clinton meets with American journalist Roxana Saberi in Washington, D.C. upon Saberi’s release from an Iranian prison after being held for three months on spying charges.

Clinton visits Honduras and El Salvador where she meets with President Mauricio Funes and emphasizes the U.S. commitment to reengaging in Latin America.

Clinton visits Egypt along with President Barack Obama and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.

Clinton swears in Melanne Verveer as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, an office she and President Obama created.

Clinton speaks at the release of the Ninth Annual Trafficking in Persons Report in Washington, D.C. The report, she says, “underscores the need to address the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, lax law enforcement, and the exploitation of women.”

Clinton sustains a fractured right elbow when she slips and falls on her way to the White House and must undergo surgery later in the week. She cancels her public schedule.

Clinton gives a foreign policy address at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C., in which she outlines her foreign policy goals, zeroing in on al Qaida and Iran’s nuclear program.

Clinton speaks at the ASEAN Regional Forum during her visit to India and Thailand. She urges North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and suggests that the regional body might consider kicking out Myanmar if it doesn’t release political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Clinton gives closing remarks at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington, D.C. She hosts the event alongside Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Clinton begins an 11-day tour of Africa that takes her to Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde. Her trip comes just a few weeks after President Obama’s visit to the region.

Clinton meets with South African President Jacob Zuma, in an effort to strengthen U.S. ties with the African nation. She discusses South Africa’s previous highly criticized approach to HIV/AIDS and the need for South African support in addressing problems in Zimbabwe.

During a town hall in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Clinton takes a question from a Congolese student who asks for Mr. Clinton’s thoughts on an issue. The nation’s top diplomat snaps, “My husband is not the secretary of state. I am.”

Clinton joins a roundtable with NGOs and Activists on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Issues in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Clinton meets with Liberia’s first democratically elected woman president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in Monrovia, Liberia. She offers strong U.S. support and says that Johnson-Sirleaf is “a leader whom I admire and someone who has provided great leadership for her country.”

Clinton meets with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and promises to cut off aid to the country after the June 28 coup that forced him out.

Clinton chairs the U.N. Security Council Session on Women, Peace and Security in Armed Conflict in New York. The Security Council adopts the Resolution to Combat Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict.

During a four-day trip that takes her to Zurich, London, Dublin, Belfast, Moscow and Kazan, Clinton meets with several leaders, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ireland Prime Minister Brian Cowen and U.K. Foreign Secretary Miliband.

Clinton meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia to discuss a US-Russia nuclear arms treaty, as well as Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Clinton outlines the U.S. strategy on Sudan during remarks in Washington, D.C.

Clinton meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Washington, D.C. where the two discussed, among other things, Iraq’s upcoming national elections.

Clinton arrives in Pakistan to meet with top-level officials and to emphasize that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan goes beyond security. Her three-day trip is marked by a car bomb in Peshawar and heated questions from Pakistanis about U.S. aerial drone strikes.

During her visit to Pakistan, the Middle East, Morocco and Egypt, Clinton meets with several top-ranking officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem. She causes a stir when she calls Netanyahu’s plans to not start any new settlements in the West Bank “unprecedented.”

Clinton restates the U.S. position that it does not accept Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land during her visit to Cairo, Egypt. This comes after criticism that the Obama administration is backing away from its earlier position that Israel must immediately stop settlement construction.

Clinton uses her remarks at the APEC Singapore Conference to discuss North Korea and Myanmar. She urges Myanmar to plan for elections in 2010.

Clinton speaks to troops in Kabul, Afghanistan at the end of her trip to Europe and Asia. Clinton states: “I was very pleased to hear today when President Karzai said that he hopes that within three years, the Afghan security forces will have the lead in important areas and within five years…the Afghan security forces would have the lead throughout the country.”

Clinton addresses the road ahead in Afghanistan in her opening remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C.

Clinton addresses NATO troop deployment at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

During Human Rights Week, Clinton outlines the administration’s human rights agenda during an address at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She states that human rights, democracy and development go hand-in-hand.

Clinton speaks at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark. She announces that the U.S. will help raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries address climate change.