HILLARY Clinton will accept an offer from Barack Obama to become secretary of state, joining her former Democratic rival to help guide US foreign policy, it was reported last night.
Mrs Clinton was said to have come to her decision after talks with the president-elect about the nature of her role as the top US diplomat and his foreign policy plans.
An official in the Clinton camp said: "They are just talking about the state
of the world and what's next."
Her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said that talks were "very much on track", although no formal announcement about the top diplomatic post is expected until after the Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday.
The job will involve playing a major role on the world stage. If appointed, Mrs Clinton would have to step down as senator for New York. She would succeed Condoleezza Rice, who has had the job for the past four years under President Bush.
But such an appointment for Mrs Clinton could prove controversial. During the primary campaign she claimed, falsely, to have endured sniper fire while on a visit to Bosnia. She later conceded she "mis-spoke" about the incident, blaming tiredness for the exaggeration.
And Mr Obama's top foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice, went public to dispute Mrs Clinton's claims to have had a role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
However, many Democrats believe an Obama-Clinton alliance would be a "dream team".
Mrs Clinton has a global profile both as a political leader in her own right and as the wife of a former president.
Policy analysts say her selection as secretary of state could signal a hawkish US stance, noting that she has been more reluctant than Mr Obama to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
But many insiders regard her main baggage as being her husband, former president Bill Clinton, some of whose undisclosed business transactions might have the potential to embarrass or compromise his wife in the future.
Transition aides have said that Mr Clinton has "come clean" about his business dealings and that the two camps have worked out financial disclosure issues and the complicated international funding of his foundation, which operates in more than 40 countries.
Mr Obama is also likely to name Federal Reserve chief Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary next week. Officials say he is the leading contender for the job and is likely to be nominated on Monday.
Mr Geithner has played a key role in the government's response to the financial crisis and worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The news that Mr Geithner could be appointed to the post sparked a stock market surge yesterday, with the Dow Jones index rising by more than 6 per cent.
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico is tipped to be commerce secretary. Mr Richardson is a prominent Hispanic leader who endorsed Mr Obama after dropping his own presidential bid this year.
Democratic senator Tom Daschle is expected to take charge of the country's healthcare system.
