I really think that there was a great advantage in many ways to being a woman. I think we are a lot better at personal relationships, and then have the capability obviously of telling it like it is when it's necessary.

You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, but they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.'

A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it's not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It's more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together.

I think the hardest part [is] the priorities. There are an awful lot of things to do [being Secretary of State].

After the Cold War, to rally the American people to understand that we had to be a part of solutions. It's one thing to say that we have to run everything, it's another to say we don't want anything to do with it.

John Kerry knows more about more subjects than an awful lot of people. But I think it's a very hard job [Secretary of State].

We must help women in every society to have their voices heard.