Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is set to become the new face of the Clinton family political dynasty as her mother exits the stage after 31 years of public service.
Chelsea Clinton, now 32, is being tipped to follow in the footsteps of both her mother and former-president father and play an increasingly prominent role in public life.
Hillary Clinton will step down from the helm at the State Department early in the New Year to be replaced by Senator John Kerry – and will take a long break before her rumored run for the White House.
Now experts quoted in Politico.com are saying Chelsea Clinton is ready to take her place as the “young Clinton” to pave the way for Hillary’s Democratic presidential bid.
As a young girl growing up in the White House, Chelsea Clinton was the subject of massive public fascination, although her parents are credited with succeeding in protecting her from much of the media frenzy.
And it seems she has not been put off a political career – Chelsea Clinton joined the board of the Clinton Foundation a few years ago and in July, accompanied her father to Africa on a foundation mission.
In 2011, Chelsea Clinton made what was effectively her first step major in politics on her own, volunteering in campaign to pass New York’s gay marriage law.
It is rumored that she managed to convince her father to change his views on the issue.
Chelsea Clinton is now involved in both the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Health Access Initiative and was also seen interviewing her mother at a Clinton Global Initiative event last year.
Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a staunch Hillary Clinton backer in her 2008 primary campaign, believes Chelsea could soon be securing the Clinton political legacy for many years to come.
Ted Strickland told Politico.com: “I think she could be a powerhouse.
“She has just, in my judgment, grown up into a person of considerable skill and competence.
“I don’t know if she has a personal goal in elected politics or not, or exactly what her life goals may be, but she certainly has a lot of rich personal experience as a result of [her upbringing].”
While a Chelsea Clinton candidacy still appears a long way off – she was still only a teenager when her mother first ran for the Senate in New York in 2000 – she has gradually become a confident public speaker.
Brian Ellner, an activist who organized the New York marriage campaign told Politico: “Chelsea Clinton speaks for her generation of young Americans who support marriage equality by wide margins, no matter what race or gender or even party.
“She has enormous credibility on the issue dating back to her work on the New York campaign.”
In a recent interview with Vogue Magazine, Chelsea Clinton gave a rare insight into what it was like growing up in the White House.
She revealed: “I was very aware of why we were there and that I was living among history.
“One of the things that my parents did a good job of was talking with me about their work.
“So at the end of the day, over dinner, I would tell them what I learned in biology class and my mother would tell me about advocating for women’s health around the world, and my dad would talk about the budget fight or what was happening in advance of a trip he was planning to Russia.
“I knew that we were having a different type of conversation than most of my friends, but there were normal rhythms that we started in Arkansas that very much carried through.”
Hillary Clinton will step down from the helm at the State Department early in the New Year. She will be replaced by Senator John Kerry.
It is rumored Hillary Clinton is planning for a second run at the presidency, although this is something she has continued to deny.
