Madeleine Albright 1937–

Name ______Class ______Date ______Into the Twenty-First Century Biography

WHY SHE MADE HISTORY An American diplomat, Madeleine Albright was the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state.

As you read the biography below, think about the course of Madeleine Albright’s life. What events prepared her to become secretary of state? AFP/Getty Images By the time President Clinton took office in 1992, the Cold War had come to an end. The United States faced new foreign policy challenges. The administration had to decide how to respond to conflicts in the Middle East, as well as Somalia, Haiti, and the former Yugoslavia. Madeleine Albright played a central role in shaping foreign policy during Clinton’s administration. Madeleine Albright was born Marie Jana Korbel in 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her father was a Czech diplomat. During the Nazi occupation, the family fled to England. Albright grew up believing that her family had moved because of political reasons. In 1997, however, she learned that her family was Jewish. In fact, three of her grandparents died in concentration camps. The family had fled from their homeland to escape persecution. After World War II, Albright’s family tried to return to Czechoslovakia. A Communist coup forced them out of the country once again, and in 1948 Albright’s family immigrated to the United States. Albright attended Wellesley College and married Joseph Albright. In 1976 she earned her Ph.D. in Russian studies from Columbia University. Albright joined the Democratic Party. She worked as a fundraiser for Senator Edmund Muskie’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1972 and served as his chief legislative assistant from 1976 to 1978. She went on to work for several nonprofit organizations throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. She taught as a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. When Clinton was elected president, he chose Albright to be ambassador to the United Nations. Albright served as ambassador for four years, increasing U.S. participation in the UN. When Clinton was elected for a second term, he nominated Albright to be U.S. secretary of state. The Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination. Albright became the first woman to hold the position.

As secretary of state, Albright aided in the expansion of NATO to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. She also supported NATO’s campaign to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. In 2000 Albright assisted with efforts to negotiate a peace agreement in the Middle East. Throughout her tenure as secretary of state, Albright promoted democracy and human rights throughout the world. After leaving her post in 2001, Albright founded the Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm. She also teaches at Georgetown University and continues to travel abroad. In 2003 Albright published her autobiography, Madame Secretary: A Memoir.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN? 1. Identify Cause and Effect What experiences helped make Madeleine Albright an effective secretary of state?

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______2. Recall Why did the Albrights move from Czechoslovakia?

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ACTIVITY The U.S. secretary of state oversees foreign policy decisions. Who is the current secretary of state? What foreign policy issues does he or she face? Write a biography of the current secretary highlighting his or her accomplishments in foreign policy.