69-year-old Kerry 1984 successfully ran for the Senate and entered the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has been the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the past four years. He ran for president in 2004, but lost by a narrow margin to then-President Bush.

After the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Kerry that morning, the Senate plenary session approved the nomination by 94 votes to 3, making Kerry the first nominee to be approved in Obama's new cabinet.

Kerry said at a hearing on his nomination held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that he would seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, push Israel and Palestine to restart direct peace talks, and deal with the threat posed by climate change.

20 13, 131On the afternoon of October 29th, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved Senator John Kerry as the next Secretary of State. This is the first white male secretary of state in the United States since 16.