Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Henry Kissinger said Hillary Clinton, a leading contender to be the Barack Obama's Secretary of State, would be an ``outstanding'' appointment.

``She is a lady of great intelligence, demonstrated enormous determination and would be an outstanding appointment,'' Kissinger, who served in the post from 1973 to 1977 under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, told the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit in New Delhi today.

New York Senator Clinton appears to be President-elect Obama's leading choice for the job, according to a Democrat familiar with the matter. Clinton, who lost to Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, flew on Nov. 13 to Chicago, where the two met.

``If it is true, it will show a couple of things,'' Kissinger said. ``It shows great courage on the part of the president-elect to appoint a very strong personality, who has an independent constituency, into a cabinet position. It also shows willingness on the part of Clinton to subordinate herself to someone whom she lost out to.''

Former President Bill Clinton declined to speculate today on whether his wife may be offered the job.

``If Obama did decide and they do decide to do it together, I think she'd be really great at being secretary of state,'' the former president said after speaking at a symposium in Kuwait. ``Whatever happens or doesn't happen is between Obama and her.''

Praise From Kyl

Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican, praised the potential appointment.

``It seems to me she's got the experience, she's got the temperament for it,'' he said today on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. ``She would be well-received around the world.''

Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, predicted she would be confirmed by the Senate if picked by Obama.

``I don't think she would have difficulty in the Senate,'' he said on the Fox program. ``She's worked across the aisle, has good bipartisan relationships.''

Obama said during his campaign that he would fashion a Cabinet that included Democrats, independents and Republicans.

Kissinger, who brokered the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur war and peace talks with the North Vietnamese, said the challenge of foreign policy for the new administration ``is to understand that in the contemporary world, you can't pick one problem and make it your top priority.''

``You should be in a position to move from one to the other,'' the Nobel Prize winner said.

Russia Relations

Relations with Russia will be among the challenges. Ties have been strained by Russia's invasion of Georgia in August and by U.S. plans to erect a missile-defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet-bloc nations that are now members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Nov. 15 his nation faces a ``crisis of trust'' with the U.S. and expressed hope that relations could be improved after Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

Kissinger said relations were ``good'' until two years ago and have gone awry because of ``misunderstanding and insensitivity.'' He said the challenge for Obama would be to try to engage Russia into a dialogue.

In South Asia, the challenge is ``to prevent Pakistan from becoming a failed state'' armed with nuclear weapons. He said he expects relations with China and India to ``thrive'' under the new administration.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cherian Thomas in New Delhi at cthomas1@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 16, 2008 14:09 EST