U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to work in her office in Washington on Monday after being absent from public life for a month with health problems.

Clinton, who will leave her post this month and be replaced by Sen. John Kerry, began her return to the State Department with a meeting behind closed doors with her aides.

The last time Clinton, 65, had appeared in public was on December 7, shortly before she developed stomach problems that caused her to become dehydrated and experience a fainting spell, during which she hit her head.

The most-traveled secretary of state in history was admitted to a New York hospital on December 30, where doctors discovered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear.

It was not until last Wednesday that Clinton was seen leaving the hospital along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and her daughter Chelsea.

During her absence, Clinton had to cancel her appearance before the congressional committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

This week Clinton will pursue an agenda full of meetings and on Thursday she will receive Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The questions about Clinton’s health have also sparked controversy over her political future, given that many people see her as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2016.