Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama said filling his national security team with “strong personalities,” including former rival Hillary Clinton, will ensure that policies are subject to “vigorous debate” and balance the nation’s diplomatic, military and economic power.

Obama today formally announced he will nominate Clinton, a New York senator, to be the next secretary of state and will retain Robert Gates, President George W. Bush’s secretary of defense, at the Pentagon.

Obama also announced he has chosen Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to be homeland security secretary, Eric Holder to head the Justice Department, retired General James L. Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant, as national security adviser, and policy adviser Susan Rice to be United Nations ambassador.

Obama dismissed a question about whether the selection of outspoken and high-profile personalities such as Clinton, Gates and Jones would challenge his ability to keep foreign policy and national security moving in a common direction.

‘I’m a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions,” the president-elect said at a news conference in Chicago. Still, he added, “I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.”

The choices won praise from Senator John Warner, a Virginia Republican and former Navy secretary with three decades of experience on the Armed Services Committee.

‘Growing Respect’

“The triumvirate of Gates, Clinton and Jones to lead Obama’s national security team instills great confidence at home and abroad and further strengthens the growing respect for the president-elect’s courage and ability to exercise sound judgment,” Warner said in a statement.

The Cabinet selections are subject to Senate confirmation after Obama takes office in January. Gates won’t have to undergo reconfirmation as defense chief. The national security adviser post filled by Jones doesn’t require confirmation.

Today’s announcement follows others last week to present Obama’s top economic team as he seeks to assure audiences at home and abroad that his administration will act quickly on the global financial meltdown and on security threats overseas.

“The national security challenges we face are just as grave -- and just as urgent -- as our economic crisis. We are fighting two wars. Old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system,” said Obama, 47.

Threats Overseas

Those threats were underscored last week in India, where terrorists attacked hotels, a Jewish center and a restaurant in Mumbai, killing at least 195 people and dealing a blow to a major U.S. ally. Obama said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on actions the U.S. takes while Bush remains in office.

Clinton, in her remarks, said Obama’s election as the nation’s 44th president demonstrated the American people want the next administration to take a different course in dealing with threats around the world.

“America cannot solve these crises without the world; and the world cannot solve them without America,” Clinton said at the news conference.

By picking Clinton, 61, Obama is neutralizing a potential political threat in four years. The two battled for the nomination through June as Clinton won about 18 million votes and thousands of die-hard supporters. Her selection by Obama was contingent on her husband, former President Bill Clinton, disclosing donors to his foundation.

Top Diplomat

She would become the third woman to be the nation’s top diplomat and would extend the 12-year streak without a white male in the position, a fact Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is black, often cites as an example of increasing equality at the highest levels of power.

Rice was preceded by Colin Powell, who is black, and he followed Madeleine Albright, who is white.

During the Democratic primary, Clinton and Obama argued over who first presented a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and who had the right policy on Pakistan or Iran. Clinton criticized Obama for saying he would meet with foreign leaders of countries such as Iran without preconditions.

Still, the two agree on many of the biggest issues of the day. Both favor negotiating to halt North Korea’s nuclear program, pressuring Russia on democracy, working with China while pressing for human rights and keeping the embargo on Cuba, while allowing family visits.

‘Complete Confidence’

Obama today called her “an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence.” In an indirect criticism of the Bush administration, Obama said her selection “is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances.”

Obama said he would be giving Gates “a new mission as soon as I take office; responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control.”

He said that while he still believes the 16-month window for a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces that he set out during the campaign “is the right timeframe,” he will consult with military commanders about the transition.

The president-elect said Gates has restored accountability at the Pentagon and has won the confidence of military commanders and members of Congress alike.

Gates, 65, said he was “deeply honored” to continue as defense chief.

Policy Direction

Andrew Krepinevich, director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a non-partisan defense analysis organization, said Obama is “sending a strong message” that he intends to be a centrist on national security.

“Robert Gates is widely admired on both sides of the political aisle, and Senator Clinton has established a solid record as a thoughtful, moderate voice on security matters during her time in the Senate,” he said. Naming Jones as NSC adviser “only serves to reinforce this message,” he said.

Jones, 64, served as supreme commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces from 2002 to 2006 and commandant of the Marine Corps from 1999 to 2002. After leaving the NATO post, he was named last year as special U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Napolitano, 51, would take over a five-year-old department whose 218,000 employees’ duties include airport and presidential security, aid for storm victims and immigration control.

Arizona Experience

Before becoming the chief executive of the border state of Arizona, she serving as U.S. attorney in the state from 1994 to 1998, and was Arizona’s first female attorney general in 1998.

Napolitano “knows firsthand the need to have a partner in Washington that works well with state and local governments,” Obama said.

Holder, 57, was the No. 2 Justice Department in the Clinton administration. Both he and Obama indicated they intend to shift the department away from the policies enacted under Bush.

“It is incumbent on those of us who lead the department to ensure not only that the nation is safe but also that our laws and traditions are respected,” Holder said. “Should I be confirmed, we look forward to actually structuring policies that are both protective and consistent with who we are as a nation.”

Holder would be the nation’s first black attorney general. Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont senator who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Holder’s selection “historic.”

Following the controversy over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys that forced the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other top Justice Department officials, Holder “will have a mandate to rebuild morale and public confidence in the Justice Department,” Leahy said.

Rice, 44, was secretary for African affairs at the State Department under Clinton and served as a senior foreign policy adviser to Obama during the presidential campaign. She is no relation to the current secretary of state.

To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Chicago at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 1, 2008 13:58 EST