Hillary Clinton smashes travel record for secretaries of state

WASHINGTON – If diplomatic achievements were measured by the number of countries visited, Hillary Clinton would be the most accomplished secretary of state in history.

When her plane touches down at Andrews Air Force Base early today, the former first lady will have completed an epic 13-day journey of 43,450 kilometres — about 3,200 kilometres more than the circumference of the Earth — through and over Europe to Asia and then doubling back to the Middle East.

Since becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton has logged 351 days on the road, travelled to 102 countries and flown a whopping 1.36 million kilometres, according to the State Department.

While some previous secretaries may have flown more miles, none has visited more nations.