WASHINGTON – Condoleezza Rice won confirmation as secretary of state yesterday despite blistering criticism from Senate Democrats who accused her of misleading statements and said she must share the blame for mistakes and war deaths in Iraq.

The tally, though one-sided at 85-13, was still the largest “no” vote against any secretary of state nominee since 1825.

Ms. Rice was sworn in seven hours later by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card in his West Wing office. Her designated replacement as national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, held the Bible. Mr. Bush planned to attend a ceremonial swearing-in tomorrow at the State Department.

Separately, a Senate committee narrowly voted to send Alberto Gonzales’s attorney general nomination to the full Senate. Jim Nicholson and Michael Leavitt won confirmation as the new secretaries of veterans affairs and health and human services, respectively, as President Bush’s second-term Cabinet fills out.

Ms. Rice, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser for four years and perhaps his closest adviser on the war and terrorism issues that dominated his first term, becomes the first black woman to be America’s top diplomat. She succeeds Colin Powell, a former Army general who clashed privately with some of the strongest hawks in Mr. Bush’s inner circle.

Although Ms. Rice’s nomination was never in doubt, Democrats mounted a lengthy and biting protest that showed she will not immediately match Mr. Powell’s collegial relationship with Capitol Hill.

Democratic senators denounced Ms. Rice’s job performance and truthfulness. Most criticism focused on Ms. Rice’s role planning for war and explaining the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Some accused her of avoiding accountability for the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Others said she seemed unwilling to acknowledge errors in planning or judgment.

“In the end, I could not excuse Dr. Rice’s repeated misstatements,” Senator Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, said of his vote against Ms. Rice.

Mr. Durbin said Mr. Powell had been “a voice of moderation,” and he expressed “hope that the responsibility of leadership will inspire Condoleezza Rice to follow his example.”

The 11 other Democrats who voted against Ms. Rice included some of the Senate’s best-known names, such as Massachusetts Senators Kennedy and Kerry, the unsuccessful candidate for president against Mr. Bush last year. Other Democrats who voted against her were: Senators Dayton of Minnesota, Boxer of California, Levin of Michigan, Byrd of West Virginia, Reed of Rhode Island, Akaka of Hawaii, Bayh of Indiana, Lautenberg of New Jersey, and Harkin of Iowa. Independent Senator Jeffords of Vermont also voted no.

Thirty-two Democrats voted to confirm Ms. Rice, although several said they did so with reservations. She won support from all 53 Republicans who voted. Two GOP senators did not cast votes.

Through history, no nominee for secretary of state has been defeated in the Senate. Many have had little or no opposition and were confirmed without recorded votes. Only one, Henry Clay in 1825, received more recorded “no” votes than Ms. Rice, according to the Senate Historian’s office. Clay was confirmed by a vote of 27-14. More recently, Henry Kissinger was approved 78-7, Dean Acheson 83-6, and Alexander Haig 93-6.

As White House national security adviser, Ms. Rice was not directly answerable to Congress. That changes now that she is a member of Mr. Bush’s Cabinet who must testify before Congress and brief legislators in private. She will also have to ask Congress for the money to run the State Department.

“My own view is she is a forthright person,” Senator Lugar, a Republican of Indiana, said after the vote. Mr. Lugar chairs the Foreign Relations Committee that questioned Ms. Rice over two days of contentious confirmation hearings last week. He said that trust will come with time.