US Senate confirms Samantha Power as UN envoy

The Senate on Thursday confirmed human rights advocate Samantha Power as the new US ambassador to the United Nations.

The Senate voted 87-10 for Power, a move Obama hailed as "a strong, bipartisan majority."

"As one of our country's leading foreign policy thinkers, Samantha knows that our nation's interests are advanced with strong and principled American leadership," Obama said in a statement following the Senate vote.

"As a long-time champion of human rights and dignity, she will be a fierce advocate for universal rights, fundamental freedoms and U.S. national interests," he added.

Power, 42, a former White House national security staffer, will replace Susan Rice, who became Obama's new national security adviser last month.

Starting the career as a freelance reporter in Bosnia, Power joined Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 as a foreign policy adviser. Her 2002 book "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide" won the Pulitzer Prize.