From intern to Hillary Clinton’s ‘second daughter’, Huma Abedin now finds an unwanted role - wronged wife

Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin has won plaudits for her campaign instincts, her deep-rooted loyalty and her glamorous personal style. But she has been thrust into the spotlight for another attribute — as a wronged political wife.

Abedin, who is expected to play a major behind-the scenes role if her boss is elected president, announced Monday she was separating from her husband, Anthony Weiner, after the former New York congressman was accused of sending lewd photographs and messages to yet another woman.

The 40-year-old Abedin, now vice-chairwoman of Clinton’s campaign, began working as an intern for the former first lady while a student at George Washington University in 1996. Her role deepened as Clinton won a New York Senate seat in 2000, ran for president in 2008 and later served as US President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. She has sometimes been referred to as Clinton’s “second daughter”.

“With Huma, her grace, her intellect and her humility have been unmatched as I’ve watched her go from an aide to an adviser to one of the people at the top of my campaign,” Clinton said in a recent profile of Abedin in Vogue.

With roughly two months to Election Day, Abedin is Clinton’s near-constant travel companion and has long exerted great influence within Clinton’s inner circle — a role in which she is expected to continue should Clinton win the White House. Few major decisions in the campaign are made without Abedin’s input, and she remains an important back-channel in the Clinton orbit of friends, political allies and donors.