Washington (CNN) -- A final meeting with the president. A farewell address to the State Department staff. A terrorist attack at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.
Hillary Clinton's last day as secretary of state on Friday seemed to be a microcosm of her four globe-trotting years as America's top diplomat.
The former first lady had a full schedule, as usual, meeting in private with President Barack Obama at the White House and then attending the send-off ceremony with clapping, cheering workers at the agency she led.
Those events were clouded by a suicide bombing earlier in the day in Ankara that killed the attacker and a Turkish security guard at the embassy. No Americans were killed or injured.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years: Hillary Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974. Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen is Hillary Clinton (center background). Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd during his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992. Al Gore, from left, his wife, Tipper, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on August 23, 1992, after they gave speeches on family values. Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Bill Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office. Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993. Clinton pours herself a cup of tea during her testimony to the Senate Education and Labor Committee on health care reform in 1993. Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington, during her husband's first term. Clinton, left, waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. Hillary Clinton looks on as President Bill Clinton addresses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 26, 1998. Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Monica Lewinsky matter. Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000. Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat at Grand Central Station on October 25, 2000, in New York. First lady Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator in a reenactment ceremony with President Bill Clinton, from left, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on January 3, 2001, in Washington. Andrew Cuomo, from left, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with the crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in their various races on November 7, 2006, in New York. Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd Annual Hopkinton State Fair on September 2, 2007, in Contoocook, New Hampshire. Clinton speaks at a fall kickoff campaign rally on September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Clinton addresses a question during a Democratic presidential candidates debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska. Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008. Clinton campaigns with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus. Sen. Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States. Barack Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama watches Sen. Hillary Clinton address the Democrate National Convention at a Democratic supporters' group in Billings, Montana, on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination. Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings on January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill. Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 13, 2009, in Washington. Clinton dances with a local choir as while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi on the outskirts of Cape Town, Souith Africa, on August 8, 2009. Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to observation post Ouellette at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Panmunjom on July 21, 2010. Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft at sunset as she leaves an ASEAN meeting July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam. From left: Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts Estate on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York. U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting on November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal. Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (not in picture) makes a brief statement before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington on November 29, 2010. Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on March 16, 2011. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011. Clinton checks her PDA upon departure in a military C-17 plane from Malta bound for Tripoli, Libya, on October 18, 2011. Clinton speaks as Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on July 7, 2012. Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, outside Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 15, 2012. Clinton looks on as President Barack Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012 at the Rose Garden of the White House. Clinton applauds Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012 in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012 in New York City. Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012 in New York. Clinton stands during a press conference following meetings at the Prime Minister's Office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was 'not up for discussion'. Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon on November 19, 2012. President Barack Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton arrived in Israel as efforts by Western and Arab diplomats to end the confrontation between Israel and Gaza have escalated. Clinton arrives on December 4, 2012 for a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member-countries in Brussels to discuss Syria and Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to be deployed protectively on the Turkish-Syrian border. Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The jersey had her last name on the top and with the number 112, which represents the number of countries that she has visited as Secretary of State. Clinton and her husband arrive for inauguration for President Barack Obama's second term at the U.S. Capitol on January 21. Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the September 11 attacks against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years HIDE CAPTION << < 
Hillary Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974. 
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen is Hillary Clinton (center background). 
Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." 
With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd during his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992. 
Al Gore, from left, his wife, Tipper, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on August 23, 1992, after they gave speeches on family values. 
Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Bill Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office. 
Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993. 
Clinton pours herself a cup of tea during her testimony to the Senate Education and Labor Committee on health care reform in 1993. 
Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington, during her husband's first term. 
Clinton, left, waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. 
Hillary Clinton looks on as President Bill Clinton addresses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 26, 1998. 
Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Monica Lewinsky matter. 
Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000. 
Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 
Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat at Grand Central Station on October 25, 2000, in New York. 
First lady Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator in a reenactment ceremony with President Bill Clinton, from left, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on January 3, 2001, in Washington. 
Andrew Cuomo, from left, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with the crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in their various races on November 7, 2006, in New York. 
Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. 
The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd Annual Hopkinton State Fair on September 2, 2007, in Contoocook, New Hampshire. 
Clinton speaks at a fall kickoff campaign rally on September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
Clinton addresses a question during a Democratic presidential candidates debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska. 
Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008. 
Clinton campaigns with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus. 
Sen. Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States. 
Barack Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008. 
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama watches Sen. Hillary Clinton address the Democrate National Convention at a Democratic supporters' group in Billings, Montana, on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination. 
Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings on January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill. 
Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 13, 2009, in Washington. 
Clinton dances with a local choir as while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi on the outskirts of Cape Town, Souith Africa, on August 8, 2009. 
Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to observation post Ouellette at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Panmunjom on July 21, 2010. 
Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft at sunset as she leaves an ASEAN meeting July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam. 
From left: Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts Estate on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York. 
U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting on November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal. 
Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (not in picture) makes a brief statement before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington on November 29, 2010. 
Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on March 16, 2011. 
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011. 
Clinton checks her PDA upon departure in a military C-17 plane from Malta bound for Tripoli, Libya, on October 18, 2011. 
Clinton speaks as Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on July 7, 2012. 
Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, outside Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 15, 2012. 
Clinton looks on as President Barack Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012 at the Rose Garden of the White House. 
Clinton applauds Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012 in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. 
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012 in New York City. 
Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012 in New York. 
Clinton stands during a press conference following meetings at the Prime Minister's Office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was 'not up for discussion'. 
Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon on November 19, 2012. 
President Barack Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012. 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton arrived in Israel as efforts by Western and Arab diplomats to end the confrontation between Israel and Gaza have escalated. 
Clinton arrives on December 4, 2012 for a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member-countries in Brussels to discuss Syria and Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to be deployed protectively on the Turkish-Syrian border. 
Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The jersey had her last name on the top and with the number 112, which represents the number of countries that she has visited as Secretary of State. 
Clinton and her husband arrive for inauguration for President Barack Obama's second term at the U.S. Capitol on January 21. 
Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the September 11 attacks against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years Hillary Clinton through the years HIDE CAPTION << < 
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Looking back at Clinton's time at State 
Hillary Clinton exit interview with CNN Clinton traveled nearly 1 million miles and visited 112 countries in her quest as secretary to promote better understanding of the United States and its role in the world.
On the road with Hillary Clinton
However, her tenure will also be remembered for last September's attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
Amid the good wishes and emotions of Clinton's farewell, Friday's bombing in Turkey was a grim reminder of the continuing threats and challenges to U.S. diplomatic efforts.
"Of course we live in very complex and dangerous times as we saw again just today at our embassy in Ankara," Clinton told the State Department ceremony.
"I know the world we are trying to help bring into being in the 21st century will have many difficult days," she added. "But I am more optimistic today than I was when I stood here four years ago."
Standing in front of a sign that said "Thank You," Clinton told the staffers jamming the area that she would miss them and the important work they do around the world.
"I will probably be dialing ops just to talk," she said to laughter.
Clinton sent her resignation letter to Obama a few hours before her successor, John Kerry, was sworn in on Friday afternoon.
Opinion: Clinton, secretary of empowerment
"It has been an honor to serve in your administration and to represent our country around the world," the letter said.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished together on behalf of the American people and in pursuit of our interests and values. And I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good around the world," she said.
In what was billed as Clinton's farewell speech on Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations, she said the United States needs to build "smart power" in a world where the levers of influence are changing rapidly.
American diplomats have to work with entrepreneurs and activists, use new technological tools such as social media and update the global and regional institutions that have dominated international affairs since World War II, Clinton said.
"We need a new architecture for a new world -- more Frank Gehry than formal Greek," she said. "Now some of his work at first might appear haphazard, but in fact, it's highly intentional and sophisticated. Where once a few strong columns could hold up the weight of the world, today we need a dynamic mix of materials and structures."
Clinton defends her diplomatic legacy
Clinton called the United States "uniquely well-positioned" to help construct that metaphorical global edifice.
"Those things that make us who we are as a nation --- our openness and innovation, our diversity, our devotion to human rights and democracy --- are beautifully matched to the demands of this era and this interdependent world," she said.
Kerry, who served nearly 30 years in the Senate, stepped down Friday ahead of his swearing-in as the nation's 68th secretary of state.
He was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, when he lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.
Kerry expects to take his first official overseas trip in coming weeks, according to a U.S. official who said stops would likely include Israel and Egypt.
Exiting State, Clinton looks to writing, speaking
Clinton, 65, now faces persistent questions about whether she will mount a second White House run in 2016 to break perhaps the highest remaining glass ceiling.
"Well I'm not thinking about anything like that right now. I'm looking forward to finishing my tenure as secretary of state and catching up on 20 years of sleep deprivation," Clinton said Tuesday at a global "town hall" forum in Washington.
Observers note her answer was a less emphatic denial than previous responses that seemed to rule out any possibility of reentering the political fray.
According to a CNN/ORC International poll conducted last month, 85% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party said they would be very or somewhat likely to support Clinton if she sought the Democratic nomination.
Clinton was considered a favorite in 2008, but Obama, who served with her in the Senate, got an early jump in the primaries. Clinton was unable to capture the momentum in a fierce political battle.
Despite the rugged campaign, Obama chose Clinton for his Cabinet and she embraced the role.
In a joint interview with CBS that aired on Sunday, Obama said that he believes Clinton's legacy will rank among the best.
"It has been a great collaboration over the last four years," Obama said. "I'm going to miss her."
Clinton touts 'smart power' in farewell talk
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