Travel plans for a South American tour had already been solidified when an earthquake rocked Chile, one of the destinations already on the Secretary's itinerary. Not on that itinerary was Argentina, but in light of the risks involved in a long stay on the ground in Chile, the itinreary was changed. That is how Mme. Secretary came to begin Women's History Month in the legendary Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires with President Cristina Kirchner.
Then she was in Uruguay where she was greeted by outgoing President Vazquez and met incoming President Mujica.
From there, she did make a touch-down in Chile to meet with then-president Michelle Bachelet and offer U.S. aid after the quake.
Her next stop was ...
As we saw yesterday, she will be returning to Brazil on January first when President Lula da Silva (above) passes the presidency to Dilma Rousseff.
From there, on March 4, she went to Costa Rica where she was met by Assistant Secretary Valenzuela (left in the picture below) to attend a conference.
She also met and congratulaed the newly-elected president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla.
Then it was on to Guatemala. Here she is with Porfirio Lobo Sosa President of Honduras.
We were treated to some beautiful architecture.
Mme. Secretary clearly enjoyed it. We know how she appreciates ceilings (except the glass one she would like to shatter to smithereens).
Back in DC, she received Haitian President Rene Preval on the 9th.
On March 10, First Lady Michelle Obama joined her at the State Department to present the International Women of Courage Awards.
In New York City for the 15th Anniversary of the UN World Conference on Women March 12, 2010 she spoke at the United Nations.
Later in the evening she spoke at the "Women In The World: Stories and Solutions" global summit at Hudson Theatre. Here she is with Diana Von Furstenberg, Tina Brown, and Queen Rania of Jordan.
Back at the State Department on the 15th, she dedicated the showers that State Department employees who bike to work had requested at her first Town Hall meeting with them.
The day before St. Patrick's Day, she welcomed Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
That evening, escorted by her best fella, she attended an American Ireland Fund Gala where she received an award and delivered a speech wearing what remains one of my all-time favorite gowns.
She left on St. Patrick's Day for Russia by way of Shannon Airport. Shannon is a refueling stop on many of her trips as well as for troop transport aircraft. She always runs into planeloads of troops either coming from or going to Afghanistan. This time she got to touch Irish ground on St. Patrick's Day.
Next stop was Russia where she participated in talks on the stalled Mid East peace process. Here we see her with Russian FM Lavrov. There were so many cute pictures....
On the 19th she met with fellow Quartet members and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Back in the U.S.A on the 22nd she spoke at the AIPAC Conference.
There was a quick trip the Mexico on the 23rd to meet with Patricia Espinosa regarding increasing drug cartel violence.
The 24th she co-hosted the U.S._ Pakistan Strategic Dialogue with Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
They get along very well together.
On March 25th, Nancy Pelosi honored her in Statuary Hall.
The next day, she appeared in the White House press room to brief reporters on the START treaty which at the point was ready for signatures. (Odd how the Republicans keep pushing back ratification of this treaty.)
The 29th found her in Canada for a conference among foreign ministers of countries bordering the Arctic Ocean.
The following day she attended a G-8 meeting hosted by Canada.
She had some maple sugar candy.
She ended the month in New York at the U.N. co-hosting the Haiti Donors Conference appearing there with the U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, one William Jefferson Clinton. News flash: the U.N. did not self-destruct with them sharing a podium!
Whew! March was packed!
