Bodog Beat

Hillary Clinton has been named Secretary of State. (Wikimedia Images)

President-elect Barack Obama named Hillary Clinton his Secretary of State on Monday morning in Chicago calling her "a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel" and "a tough campaign opponent."

"She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capitol, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world," Obama said.

Obama also announced his intention to keep current Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his post and relayed his other nominees to his security team including Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations, Eric Holder as attorney general, retired Marine General James Jones as his national security adviser and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as homeland security director.

Obama said he and his newly appointed security team believe "now is the time for us to regain American leadership in all of its dimensions" and to strike a balance between "maintaining the strongest military on the planet" while employing "the wisdom of our diplomacy."