WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush announced his nomination Tuesday of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to succeed Colin Powell as Secretary of State.
The announcement, one day after Powell's resignation was made public, came in the Roosevelt Room of the White House with Rice by his side.
"Condi Rice is known to all Americans and in much of the world. In the last four years I have relied on her counsel ... and appreciate her sound and steady judgment. And I am honored she has agreed to serve in cabinet," Bush said.
"The secretary of state is America's face to the world and in Dr. Rice the world will see the strength, the grace and the decency of our country."
Rice, 50, a Russia expert, joined the administration at the start of the first Bush term after serving as his foreign policy adviser during the 2000 campaign. She previously had been the provost of Stanford University and also had served on the National Security Council staff of President George H.W. Bush.
Bush said Rice's deputy on the National Security Counsel, Stephen Hadley, would be promoted to replace her.
