Susan Rice

Susan Rice was confirmed by the Senate as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of President Barack Obama on January 22, 2009. Rice is an international relations expert who served in the Bill Clinton administration and was a senior foreign policy adviser for the Barack Obama Campaign.

At 12:00 p.m. EST on April 5, 2009, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting in response to North Korea's rocket launch. Susan Rice informed the ABC program This Week that the U.S. intended to press the council to add to "previous sanctions" and "toughen existing regimes." According to United States officials, the rocket, which the North Korean's said was "carrying a satellite," landed in the Pacific Ocean when it did not reach orbit.Bloomberg.com: U.S. to Ask for Tougher UN Sanctions on North Korea, Rice Says (April 5, 2009)

Rice is considered an expert on African issues, having enforced policies and applied diplomacy with such countries as Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya, the home country of Barack Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama Senior. She also contributed as a foreign policy expert to Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign in 1988, and assisted Madeleine Albright, her long-time friend and mentor. HistoryCommons: Profile: Susan Rice The New York Times: The New Team Susan E. Rice (November 6, 2008)

On January 26, 2009, Rice said that the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about Iran's nuclear pursuits. She told reporters, after presenting her credentials to the U.N.'s chief, that the U.S. would use "dialogue and diplomacy" along with a "very firm message from the U.S. and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council and its continued refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase."VOA News: US Envoy Susan Rice Arrives at United Nations (January 26, 2009)

• Huffington Post: Blog Entries by Susan Rice