Madeleine Albright

Madeleine Albright
Official portrait, 1997
64th United States Secretary of State
In office
January 23, 1997 – January 20, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
DeputyStrobe Talbott
Preceded byWarren Christopher
Succeeded byColin Powell
20th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office
January 27, 1993 – January 21, 1997
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byEdward J. Perkins
Succeeded byBill Richardson
Personal details
Born
Marie Jana Korbelová

(1937-05-15)May 15, 1937
Prague, Czechoslovakia
DiedMarch 23, 2022(2022-03-23) (aged 84)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Citizenship
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
(m. 1959; div. 1983)
Children3, including Alice P.
Parent
Education
AwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom (2012)
Signature

Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright[1] (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022)[2][3] was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman to hold that post.[4]

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Albright immigrated to the United States after the 1948 communist coup d'état when she was eleven years old. Her father, diplomat Josef Korbel, settled the family in Denver, Colorado, and she became a U.S. citizen in 1957.[5][6] Albright graduated from Wellesley College in 1959 and earned a PhD from Columbia University in 1975, writing her thesis on the Prague Spring.[7] She worked as an aide to Senator Edmund Muskie from 1976 to 1978, before serving as a staff member on the National Security Council under Zbigniew Brzezinski. She served in that position until 1981 when President Jimmy Carter left office.[8]

After leaving the National Security Council, Albright joined the academic faculty of Georgetown University in 1982 and advised Democratic candidates regarding foreign policy. Following the 1992 presidential election, Albright helped assemble President Bill Clinton's National Security Council. She was appointed United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997, a position she held until her elevation as secretary of state. Secretary Albright served in that capacity until President Clinton left office in 2001.

Albright served as chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group, a consulting firm, and was the Michael and Virginia Mortara Endowed Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.[9] She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in May 2012.[10] Albright served on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.[11]

  1. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (July 26, 1988). "Dukakis's Foreign Policy Adviser: Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Madeleine Albright Fast Facts". CNN. May 8, 2014. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  3. ^ Cohen, Roger. "Memory Goes to War". The New Republic. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  4. ^ Dumbrell, John (December 2008). "President Clinton's Secretaries of State: Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright" (PDF). Journal of Transatlantic Studies. 6 (3): 217–227. doi:10.1080/14794010802548016. S2CID 144358880. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2019 – via Academic Search Complete.
  5. ^ Koven, Steven G.; Götzke, Frank (August 9, 2010). American Immigration Policy: Confronting the Nation's Challenges. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-95940-5. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Brockes, Emma (October 30, 2003). "Interview: Madeleine Albright". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Williams, Ian (February 25, 1999). "Albright's State Deportment". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  8. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (September 22, 1996). "Madeleine Albright's Audition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "Madeleine Albright: Georgetown's Treasured Professor Active as Ever". georgetown.edu. May 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  10. ^ Cohen, Tom (May 29, 2012). "Albright, Dylan among recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom". CNN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "Board of Directors". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2009.

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