Clinton returns to applause and a football helmet
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This handout photo provided by the State Department shows Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton holding up a football helmet presented to her at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, as she returned to work on Monday after a month-long absence caused first by a stomach virus, then a fall and a concussion and finally a brief hospitalization for a blot clot near her brain. -- PHOTO: AP
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United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (front R) is seen in a picture provided by the State Department January 7, 2013, as she chairs her weekly meeting of the Assistant Secretaries of State at the State Department in Washington. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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This handout image provided January 7, 2013 by the US State Department shows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) holds a football jersey she received as a welcoming gift along with a helmet, as she returned to work at the State Department in Washington, DC. -- PHOTO: AFP
This handout photo provided by the State Department shows Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton holding up a football helmet presented to her at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, as she returned to work on Monday after a month-long absence caused first by a stomach virus, then a fall and a concussion and finally a brief hospitalization for a blot clot near her brain. -- PHOTO: AP
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (front R) is seen in a picture provided by the State Department January 7, 2013, as she chairs her weekly meeting of the Assistant Secretaries of State at the State Department in Washington. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
This handout image provided January 7, 2013 by the US State Department shows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) holds a football jersey she received as a welcoming gift along with a helmet, as she returned to work at the State Department in Washington, DC. -- PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a standing ovation from her staff and an American football helmet to protect her from Washington's hard knocks as she returned to work after a health scare.
A month to the day since she was last seen on official duties when she flew back from a trip to Europe on Dec 7, Mrs Clinton chaired her regular weekly Monday meeting with her closest staff and advisors.
"It is a great day here in the department... Secretary Clinton is back to work," State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said, adding that the 75 people present at the meeting had given her a standing ovation. Mrs Clinton, 65, who suffered a blood clot to her head after a fall in December "looks fantastic, she seems to be terrific," Ms Nuland said. "She is in the pink, literally. She's wearing a brilliant pink jacket today."
As a joke, the staff presented her with a white football helmet, with "lots of good padding" bearing the State Department seals, and a blue football jersey printed with the words "Clinton" and "112," to signify the number of countries she has visited during her four-year tenure, Ms Nuland said.
