Madeleine Albright: First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State Passes Away
Last Wednesday, Madeleine Korbel Albright, the first woman to serve as Secretary of State, passed away at age 84. Madeleine Albright was and will continue to be an inspiration to women across the world. Even though she was only 4’10’’, Ms. Albright, an aggressive activist for her beliefs, stood above the rest. She proved to the world that women are just as strong, intelligent, and capable as men.
When she was little, she and her parents left Czech and fled to America during WWII. Once in the Americas, Ms. Albright’s parents left the Jewish religion in order to protect themselves from the existing antisemitism plagueing the world. Becuase of this, Madeleine Albright grew up with little knowledge about her relatives and it would not be until after she become the first female Secretary of State that she would finally uncovered the truth about her many relatives that were killed during WWII.
Madeleine Albright was a dignified and determined woman, who according to the New York Times, worked her way up the white male dominated world of the government, and “climbed the ranks of the Democratic Party”. She served as counselor to President Jimmy Carter and as the foreign policy advisor to Senator Mondale, Governor Dukakis, and President Clinton. In 1993, President Bill Clinton named Ms. Albright Chief Delegate to the United Nations. She worked with Mr. Clinton to solve many disputes within the UN. In 1997, Madeleine Albright was made Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton. She was unanimously confirmed, (99-0).
Madeleine Albright shows us that being a woman should not and does not restrict one from being a strong leader. Breaking the gender norms, Ms. Albright continues to influence people across the world to get involved in politics and to stand up for what you believe in. Though we are all in mourning, let this be a time to shine light on all Ms. Albright had accomplished throughout her incredible lifetime.
Read more about all her amazing accomplishments here:
NYT Article: “Madeleine Albright, First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State, Dies at 84”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/us/madeleine-albright-dead.html?referringSource=articleShare
NPR Podcast: “Madeleine Albright Warns: Don’t Let Fascism Go ‘Unnoticed Until It’s Too Late’”
PBS NewsHour: “Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, dies at 84”
