[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]

Hillary Clinton will step down as U.S. Secretary of State within 'days' of President Barack Obama's second inauguration in January, her spokesman said today.

Her long-respected departure is expected by most Democrats to be a prelude for a White House run in 2016, when she will be 69.

The top candidate to replace her is believed to be Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the losing 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.