Massachusetts senator and onetime Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry will be formally nominated today as the next Secretary of State, NBC has confirmed.

Kerry, who has been considered the overwhelming frontrunner for the job since U.N. ambassador Susan Rice withdrew herself from consideration, is likely to face few hurdles during his Senate confirmation.

First elected to the Senate in 1984, Kerry served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy and became a famed demonstrator against the Vietnam War. Since his failed presidential bid in 1984, he has risen to prominence as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, going on high-profile visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan and helping to negotiate an arms treaty with Russia.

He will replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has indicated she will step down from the post early next year.

[NBC]