Barack Obama has been both moderate in choosing the political ideals that will fuel his presidency, and pioneering in the appointment of African-American women to important posts. Susan E. Rice embodies the theme of change, and will serve as the United States Ambassador to the U.N. Rice is the second African-American woman in the Obama Cabinet following the appointment of Desiree Rogers as Social Secretary, and Valerie Jarrett may be named a Senior Adviser to the White House in the coming days.

Read Susan E. Rice’s Bio Here

Rice is considered a Washington star by many of her peers, and hopes to enact change quickly and drastically as the U.N. relationship with the United States has soured since the Iraq War.

From NYTimes:

he choice of Ms. Rice to represent the United States before the United Nations will make her one of the most visible faces of the Obama administration to the outside world aside from Mrs. Clinton. It will also send to the world organization a prominent and forceful advocate of stronger action, including military force if necessary, to stop mass killings like those in the Darfur region of Sudan in recent years.

To reinforce his intention to work more closely with the United Nations after the tensions of President Bush’s tenure, Mr. Obama plans to restore the ambassador’s post to cabinet rank, as it was under President Bill Clinton, according to Democrats close to the transition.

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