No. 3 Richard Holbrooke

A career diplomat, Richard Holbrooke has impressive foreign policy credentials. He is a former Ambassador to the UN and has been credited as the architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord that brought fighting to an end in Bosnia.

Holbrooke has a long relationship with the Clintons, beginning with his appointment as Ambassador to Germany in 1993 - an important post coming on the dawn of German Reunification. He was a finalist to succeed Warren Christopher as Secretary of State in 1997, but lost out to Madeleine Albright.

Holbrooke was an advisor to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign and joined Hillary Clinton's campaign during the Democratic primaries. His long association with the Clintons may be a contentious issue within the Obama camp and therefore the odds of his being appointed to this post may be long.

Nevertheless, Holbrooke is one of few Democratic diplomats who have extensive and hands-on foreign policy expertise in both Europe and Asia, having served as assistant secretary of state for both regions.