Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947)

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Biography

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, and the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 as the wife of Bill Clinton. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party and the only woman to win the popular vote for U.S. president. Clinton lost the United States Electoral College to Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. She is the only first lady of the United States to have run for elected office.

In Their Own Words (5)

Many of you are well enough off that… the tax cuts may have helped you… We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.

Explaining her opposition to President Bush's tax cut in San Francisco (28 June 2004) , 2001

In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive, and he said 70 times 7. Well, I want you all to know that I'm keeping a chart.

Speech at the National Prayer Luncheon, reported in The New Yorker (30 May 1994) , 1993

But if everybody's watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.

Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council (24 April 2013), WikiLeaks. , 2013

You know, I'm not sitting here like some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette. I'm sitting here because I love him, and I respect him, and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together. And you know, if that's not enough for people, then heck, don't vote for him.

60 minutes interview. , 1992

I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.

Response to reporter's questions (16 March 1992), reported on "Making Hillary an Issue" Nightline (26 March 1992). Quoted in Boston Globe. , 1992

Timeline

The story of Hillary Rodham Clinton, told in moments.

1975 Event

Married Bill Clinton in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She kept her maiden name, Rodham, which became a political liability in Arkansas. She added Clinton in 1982 before Bill's gubernatorial comeback.

Adding Clinton in 1982 before Bill s comeback. Was that your choice or the voters demand? Did keeping Rodham feel like holding onto something essential?

2000 Event

Elected U.S. Senator from New York. First sitting First Lady to win elected office. Won with 55% of the vote in a state she'd never lived in before 1999.

Winning a Senate seat in a state you d never lived in. Was that audacity or calculation? 55 percent of the vote. Did New York accept you?

2009 Event

Became Secretary of State under Obama after a bruising primary loss. Served four years and logged nearly a million miles of travel to 112 countries.

A million miles as Secretary of State. Which country trip changed you most? Losing the primary to Obama, then working for him. Was that hard to swallow?

2016 Event

Lost the presidential election to Donald Trump despite winning the popular vote by 2.9 million. First woman nominated for president by a major party. The Electoral College margin was 306 to 232.

First woman nominated by a major party. Was that night in Philadelphia everything you d imagined? 306 to 232. When did you know you d lost?