DUSHANBE, December 22, 2012, Asia-Plus -- US President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Senator John Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as his next secretary of state.  According to the BBC, Mr. Obama said Mr. Kerry''s “entire life” prepared him for the role, and praised him for the “respect and confidence” he has earned from world leaders.

Mr. Kerry ran as Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Reuters reports the announcement fell short of the White House''s earlier hopes of rolling out national security appointments, including a new CIA director, all at once before Christmas.  That ambition was thwarted not only by the Hagel controversy but other matters that have occupied Obama''s attention - the standoff over the "fiscal cliff" and last week''s Newtown gun massacre.

Kerry, 69, will take over from Clinton, who has been consistently rated as the most popular member of the president''s Cabinet.  But he will also have to pick up the pieces after a scathing official inquiry found serious security lapses by the State Department in the deadly September 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya - a report that has tarnished the final days of Clinton''s tenure, according to Reuters.

International media sources note that Kerry''s nomination follows a political firestorm that engulfed Rice, seen as the early favorite for the State job, spearheaded by Republicans fiercely critical of her role in the administration''s early explanations for the Benghazi assault.

Rice was reportedly defended by Obama, but she said on December 13 she was pulling her name from consideration to avoid a potentially lengthy and disruptive confirmation process.

Kerry, known for his role as a Democratic power broker in the Senate, offers no such challenges.  His selection sets a pragmatic tone as Obama begins overhauling his national security team, Reuters said, noting that Kerry will be the leading Cabinet member charged with tackling pressing global challenges, ranging from upheaval in the Middle East to Iran''s nuclear standoff with the West and winding down the war in Afghanistan - all at a time of fiscal austerity at home.

Also in the mix for the Pentagon job are Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense for policy, and Ashton Carter, the current deputy defense secretary, Reuters noted.

The top candidates for CIA director, to replace David Petraeus who stepped down over an extramarital affair, are thought to be Michael Morell, currently acting CIA director, and John Brennan, a top counterterrorism adviser to Obama and a former CIA official.