"The UN is not a cure-all; we must be clear-eyed about the problems, challenges and frustrations of the institution," she said. "But it is a global institution that can address a tremendous range of critical American and global interests."

Confirmed by the U.S. Senate last Thursday, Rice is expected to help mend the rocky diplomatic marriage between the United States and the United Nations.

Susan Rice (2nd, L), new U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (1st, R) during a meeting after presenting her credential at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Jan. 26, 2009. [Xinhua]

The Bush administration and the United Nations clashed repeatedly over the Iraq war. Obama signaled his intention to help improve ties by restoring the UN ambassadorship to Cabinet rank, the status it had during the Bill Clinton years.

Rice, 44, is not related to the former U.S. state of secretary, Condoleezz Rice, 54.

During the Clinton administration, Rice worked for the National Security Council and the State Department, primarily on issues related to Africa.

She grew up in Washington D.C., the U.S. capital, and is a daughter of an education scholar and a former Federal Reserve Board governor. A Rhodes scholar, she holds degrees from Stanford and Oxford.

Photo taken on Jan. 26, 2009 shows Susan Rice, new U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2009)