One of the things that was really an issue was I did not want to just be a woman secretary of state. I wanted to be a secretary of a state who was a woman, but not just chosen for that particular reason.

There are an awful lot of things going on that need understanding and explanation, but - to put it mildly - the world is a mess.

Hate, emotionalism, and frustration are not policies.

China is in its own category - too big to ignore, too repressive to embrace, difficult to influence, and very, very proud.

We have a responsibility in our time, as others have had in theirs, not to be prisoners of history but to shape history, a responsibility to fill the role of path-finder, and to build with others a global network of purpose and law.

I was not only the first woman to become secretary of state, I was the first [U.S.] secretary of state of the 21st century. I was the first secretary of state to own a Web site, to visit Internet cafes, and to make Internet access a part of policy.

the purpose of foreign policy is to persuade others to do what we want or, better yet, to want what we want.