cabinet

オバマ大統領がジョン・ケリー氏を国務長官に任命したそうです。

Obama nominates John Kerry as secretary of state
US President Barack Obama has nominated Senator John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Obama made the announcement on Friday in a brief news conference he held with Kerry at the White House.
The president stated "In a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role. John played a central role in every major foreign policy debate for nearly 30 years".
Kerry was first elected to the Senate from Massachusetts in 1984. He has been chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 2009 and is well known for his extensive foreign policy experience.
In 2004, he sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination to challenge President George W. Bush.
Kerry was considered a strong candidate for the job since Hillary Clinton announced her resignation.
UN Ambassador Susan Rice was also thought of as a likely candidate but she had to decline the nomination in the face of strong opposition from Republican lawmakers.
The new pick for the position of secretary of state is the first major personnel announcement President Obama has made regarding his second term cabinet.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20121222_05.html

ここにあるcabinetはもちろん「飾り棚、戸棚」という意味ではなく、「内閣、閣僚、≪米≫（大統領の）顧問団、≪英≫閣議」という意味になります。（『ジーニアス英和辞典　第３版』大修館）　同じ辞書に載っていたのですが、「小さな部屋(cabin)が原義、英国王が大臣を私室へ呼び入れたことから「内閣」の意が生じた」とありました。なるほどです。

ケリー氏と言えば、２００４年の大統領選挙の民主党の大統領候補でした。このケリー氏の起用により、海外のアメリカに対するイメージの向上につながることを期待したいですね。(Hatahata)