Senior officials say U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Senator John Kerry to take over as Secretary as State.
Administration officials, requesting anonymity, say Obama will make the nomination official later Friday.
Kerry, a Democrat from the northeastern state of Massachusetts has served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has traveled on behalf of President Obama to hot spots around the world from Africa to Pakistan. He is also a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
Kerry, 69, also ran as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2004, losing that bid to then-incumbent President George W. Bush.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonx
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
If approved by the Senate, Kerry will take over from current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who announced she did not plan to continue in the role during Obama's second term in office.
Clinton fell last week and was diagnosed with a concussion. She has not made any public appearances since then.
Kerry became the leading candidate for the country's top diplomatic post after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration last week. Rice faced heavy criticism from some members of the senate for her public comments following the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Kerry presided over a hearing looking into the Benghazi attack Thursday, criticizing key leaders in the State Department for failing to address security concerns.
"There were clear warning signs that the security situation in Libya had deteriorated and going forward it is important," Kerry said, "and I think it is important for all of us to think in terms of going forward, that we need to do a better job of ensuring a free and open dialogue among ambassadors, their embassy security personnel and officials in Washington, where decisions on security, staffing levels and funding are made.
Senator John Kerry emerges after a unanimous vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving him to become America's next top diplomat, January 29, 2013.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry arrives on Capitol Hill for the start of his confirmation hearing to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, January 24, 2013.
John Kerry sits before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four as he seeks confirmation as U.S. secretary of state, January 24, 2013.
John Kerry waves as he walks to the podium to address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 6, 2012.
Barack Obama works the crowd during his first presidential campaign with John Kerry, during a rally at the College of Charleston campus in South Carolina, where Kerry endorsed Mr. Obama, January 10, 2008.
Then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry points toward the audience beside his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry after the presidential debate in Tempe, Arizona, October 13, 2004.
Then President George W. Bush and John Kerry greet each other at the end of their first presidential debate at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, September 30, 2004.
John Kerry windsurfs off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts when he was the Democratic presidential candidate, August 30, 2004.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry along with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry greet supporters during a fundraiser when he was the Democratic presidential candidate in Boston, Massachusetts, 2003.
Senator John Kerry is swarmed by supporters as he arrives for a re-election victory rally in Boston, Massachusetts, November 5, 1996.
John Kerry raises his arms in victory in this November 6, 1984 photo in a Boston hotel where he celebrated his defeat over Ray Shamie, in the Senate race.