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Condoleezza Rice to Be Named Secretary of State
National Security Adviser Is Bush's Choice to Replace Powell
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as they listen to President George W. Bush speaks in the Oval Office in Washington. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
Nov. 15, 2004 --
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, one of President Bush's closest counselors, will be nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, ABC News has learned.Senior administration sources confirmed that Rice would be Bush's choice. The news came just hours after the White House announced Powell had submitted his resignation.
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ABC News has also learned that Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley will likely replace Rice as national security adviser.
The announcement comes as a sort of birthday present for Rice, who turned 50 on Sunday.
Powell's Departure
Colin Powell submitted his resignation on Friday, though his departure was not announced until today.
The retired four-star general was known for his moderate views and for reportedly clashing with members of the administration on the issue of Iraq. Even so, it was Powell who went before the United Nations in February 2003 to make a case for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
But as Powell made appearances before reporters and television cameras to announce his departure today, there were rumblings that he had been forced out — rumblings the White House denies.
"He came to a decision," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "It was his decision to resign and he made that decision."
But some conservatives, who saw Powell as too moderate for the President's foreign policies, saw this as a positive move.
"The president may for the first time in his presidency have someone at the helm of the State Department who actively and consistently supports his policy," said Frank J. Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy.
A Loyal Defender
If Rice's appointment is confirmed by the Senate, she will take over the job of international diplomat during a war that has divided the nation and the world.
Rice has loyally defended the Bush administration's track record on the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as its handling of intelligence before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Testifying under oath before the 9/11 Commission investigating the attacks, Rice maintained there was no "silver bullet" that could have prevented the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
A Stellar Academic Career
Rice was the first female U.S. national security adviser. She would be only the second woman and second African-American to be appointed secretary of state.
Born and raised in segregated Birmingham, Ala., Rice was the child of two educators. After her father took a job in Denver, Rice decided to take college courses while still in high school. She was just 19 years old when she graduated from the University of Denver.
Although she was initially interested in music, Rice began studying the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. She earned her master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975 and received her doctorate from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. In 1981 she began teaching at Stanford University, where she would later serve six years as provost.
In 1989, the first President Bush's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, helped convince Rice to leave Stanford and work for him in Washington. She quickly became one of George H.W. Bush's most trusted advisers. From 1989 through March 1991, the period of German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she served in the first Bush administration as director and then senior director of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a special assistant to the president for national security affairs.
Rice's Replacement
The man replacing Rice, Stephen Hadley, has been assistant to the president and the national security adviser since January 2001.
A lawyer, Hadley is a long-time adviser to President Bush. During Bush's first presidential campaign, he served as a senior foreign and defense policy adviser.
He worked as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy from 1989 to 1993 and has held numerous other political and civilian posts over the years.