Madeleine Albright, first female U.S. secretary of state, dies of cancer at age 84
Larry McShane
Madeleine Albright, the groundbreaking global diplomat appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first female U.S. secretary of state, died Wednesday of cancer at the age of 84, her family announced.
Albright, the nation’s 64th secretary of state, became the highest-ranking woman in American history at the time of her ascension to the position in 1996. The death of Albright, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was announced in a brief statement by her family.
“We are heartbroken to announce that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright passed away earlier today,” said the family statement. “She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.”
Secretary of State Madeline Albright testifies before a House Appropriations committee in 1999.
Secretary of State Madeline Albright testifies before a House Appropriations committee in 1999. (Harry Hamburg/)
Clinton, who said he last spoke with Albright two weeks ago, described her as “one of the finest secretaries of state, an outstanding UN ambassador, a brilliant professor, and an extraordinary human being. ... She never lost her great sense of humor or her determination to go out with her boots on, supporting Ukraine in its fight to preserve freedom and democracy.”
She rose to her unprecedented positions in the U.S. after fleeing both Nazis and Communists in her native Czechoslovakia. Her family arrived in the United States as refugees in 1948, long before her improbable ascent to the topmost reaches of American diplomacy.
Albright, born in Prague, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 from President Barack Obama, who praised her work during her service as America’s global diplomat and hailed her life as an inspiration for all Americans.
“Madeleine’s courage and toughness helped bring peace to the Balkans and paved the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world,” he said.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016. (J. Scott Applewhite/)
President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were informed of her passing on their flight to Brussels for an emergency NATO meeting about Ukraine.
Former President George W. Bush issued a statement saying, “Laura and I are heartbroken by the news of Madeleine Albright’s death. She lived out the American Dream and helped others realize it. ... She served with distinction as a foreign-born foreign minister who understood firsthand the importance of free societies for peace in our world.”
FILE - President Barack Obama awards Madeleine Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House, on May 29, 2012, in Washington.
FILE - President Barack Obama awards Madeleine Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House, on May 29, 2012, in Washington. (Carolyn Kaster/)
Albright, born Marie Jana Korbelova on May 15, 1937, was the daughter of a Jewish diplomat. The family converted to Catholicism when she was a 5-year-old to protect its members during the Holocaust and World War II.
Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps, and she eventually learned that 26 family members died in the Holocaust.
Once the family landed in the U.S., her father became a teacher at the University of Denver, where his students included a young Condoleezza Rice. She would later succeed his daughter as secretary of state, becoming the first Black woman to hold that office.
Albright was a little-known quantity until Clinton’s arrival in the White House in 1993, when the new president named her chief U.S. ambassador to the UN.
She emerged quickly as a vociferous advocate for American global interests as she and the administration clashed repeatedly with then-UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali over an assortment of issues, including the Bosnian civil war, as well as peacekeeping operations in Somalia.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (R) hugs former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (C) after Clinton received the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding April 12, 2006, in Washington, DC.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (R) hugs former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (C) after Clinton received the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding April 12, 2006, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee / Getty Images/)
The future diplomat graduated from Wellesley College in 1959, working as a journalist before moving on to study international relations at Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree in 1968 and a Ph.D. eight years later. She also wrote several books, including The New York Times best seller “Hell and Other Destinations.”
“At a time when refugees are fleeing a brutal war of aggression, Madeleine Albright’s inspiring life is a powerful reminder of how those who arrive here with nothing but dreams have made our nation stronger and our world more peaceful,” said former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
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Albright married journalist Joseph Albright, a descendant of Chicago’s Medill-Patterson newspaper dynasty, in 1959. They had three daughters and divorced in 1983.
Albright was, at the time of her death, a Georgetown University professor in the School of Foreign Service and chairwoman of the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy business.
