Kerry steps into Clinton's shoes

US: Few people can boast such impeccable credentials to represent America as its top diplomat as John Kerry.

He has met most of the world's top movers and shakers, from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to Afghanistan's leader Hamid Karzai, to the politicians steering Europe through the euro-zone crisis.

Now the veteran senator, 69, has landed his dream job after his confirmation as the next secretary of state by his Senate colleagues Tuesday, taking up the helm of the State Department and helping shape America's future foreign policy.

"He really does see this as a capstone to his career," said Tyson Barker, director for transatlantic relations at the Bertelsmann Foundation North America.

Kerry, who is perhaps best known abroad for his failed bid for the presidency in 2004, takes over from Hillary Clinton, who has won accolades during her four years on the job.

"I think Kerry is pretty much as good a successor as Europe could hope for," Barker told AFP, adding Brussels and Berlin were "pretty excited" about welcoming Kerry teamed with the new defense secretary designate, Chuck Hagel.

Kerry is the son of a US diplomat who grew up among the rubble of Berlin, criss-crossed Europe as a child, fought in Vietnam, and returned to fight against the war. He has served in the US Senate since 1985, and chaired the foreign relations committee since 2009.

In nominating Kerry to be the next secretary of state, President Barack Obama said: "He is not going to need a lot of on-the-job training." "It's as if John Kerry stepped out of one of those portraits on the seventh floor of the State Department. He's been in training for this job for decades," said Martin Indyk, director for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

AFP