While the world’s eyes are fixed on who might be the next U.S. President, many in the international development community are wondering what former senator and current secretary of state will be doing when her term ends this year.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said that she will step down from her position as secretary of state — regardless who wins in the coming 2012 presidential elections. What will she be doing? She’s clearly not running for president, at least not in the upcoming elections. And she did not take her chance at the World Bank, when it was allegedly hers for the taking.
“Pieces of things,” she told Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times. Among them: Write a book, pursue philanthropy, and champion women and girls.
The last one doesn’t sound so surprising. Clinton, in her four years as secretary of state, has spearheaded a number of initiatives targeting women and girls. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves aims not only to combat climate change and improve people’s health, but also empower women. The Saving Mothers, Giving Life initiative, meanwhile, seeks to reduce maternal deaths.
Melanne Verveer, one of her “close aides,” is sure of one thing: Clinton would be working on causes she’s passionate about.
But nothing’s definite yet, as Clinton told Myers there’s still “too much to do.”
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
