RIP: Madeleine Albright, the first woman United States Secretary of State

[thewayne]

In fact, she might have been the first high-ranking female U.S. government official period! She served as Sec. State under President Bill Clinton 1997 to 2001 but was previously the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997.

Albright, aged 84, was taken by cancer at her home surrounded by family. Born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague in 1937, her father was a diplomat and friend to Czechoslovakia's president. The family and government fled to England ahead of the invading Germans when she was a little girl.

Side note: she wrote an amazing autobiography called Prague Winter or Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937–1948, I read it three years ago and heartily recommend it. I really should look for some of her other books, she had an excellent writing style.

While in London, the family became Catholics - Madeline did not know that she was born a Jew until many, MANY years later when she was on a diplomatic trip back to her homeland and encountered some distant relatives who started telling her stories of other relatives lost to the death camps.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/madeline-albright-first-secretary-of-state-dead-1325760/

Comments

[dewline]

She will be Remembered.

[kaishin108]

That is sad, I really liked her.

[disneydream06]

She was a very cool lady. :)
Hugs, Jon

[silveradept]

She did her job admirably and with professionalism. We could not have asked for more. And she did it in the era where both parties at least still pretended to work together.

[thewayne]

The Republicans were much more Republicans back then, and it was only 20odd years ago! The intervening years have been very odd indeed.