Madeleine Albright

Madeleine Korbel Albright, née Marie Jana Korbel (born May 15, 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic) served as the 64th United States Secretary of State.

Academic and public career

Madeleine Albright graduated from Kent Denver high school in 1955. Awarded a B.A. from Wellesley College with honors in Political Science, she studied at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, received a Certificate from the Russian Institute at Columbia University, and her Masters and Doctorate from Columbia University's Department of Public Law and Government.

Related Topics:
Wellesley College - Political Science - School of Advanced International Studies - Johns Hopkins University - Columbia University

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From 1978 to 1981, as both a staff member of the White House and the National Security Council, Albright was an important Carter Administration official responsible for the formulation of foreign policy legislation. From 1976 to 1978, she served as Chief Legislative Assistant to Senator Edmund Muskie.

Related Topics:
1978 - 1981 - 1976 - Edmund Muskie

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From 1981 to 1982, Secretary Albright was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution following an international competition in which she wrote about the

Related Topics:
1981 - 1982 - Smithsonian Institution

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role of the press in political changes in Poland during the early 1980s.

Related Topics:
Poland - 1980s

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From 1981 to 1982 she also served as a Senior Fellow in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, conducting research in developments and trends in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Related Topics:
Soviet - Eastern Europe - Center for Strategic and International Studies

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In 1981 she co-founded the Center for National Policy. She also served as President of the organization.

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In 1982, Albright was appointed Research Professor of International Affairs and Director of Women in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. She taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, Russian foreign policy, and Central and Eastern European politics, and was responsible for developing and implementing programs designed to enhance women's professional opportunities in international affairs. Before becoming Secretary of State, Albright served as a member of President Clinton's Cabinet.

Related Topics:
Georgetown University - School of Foreign Service - Foreign policy - Russia - Central - Eastern Europe

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In 2005 she is going to Guest Star on the soap opera Gilmore Girls.

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Ambassador to the UN

Albright was appointed ambassador to the UN, her first diplomatic post, shortly after Clinton was inaugurated, presenting her credentials on February 9, 1993. During her tenure at the UN, she had a rocky relationship with the United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Related Topics:
February 9 - 1993 - United Nations Secretary-General - Boutros Boutros-Ghali

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Secretary of State

As Secretary of State, Albright incurred the wrath of many Serbs in the former Yugoslavia because of her (accurately) perceived anti-Serb position and her role in participating in the formulation of US policy during the Kosovo War and Bosnian wars as well as USA policy in the Balkans. From Bosnia, international news reports and video footage showed Bosnian men detainees in concentration camps down to skin and bones. John Fox, a US State Department specialist told Peter Jennings of ABC News that he was told to not tell the truth: "We could not continue to confirm the existence of concentration camps." He said the order came from a very senior official "on the seventh floor of the State Department". ABC News executive producer David Gelber told Jennings: "Imagine that the US government knew there were concentration camps in Bosnia and wouldn't confirm it because they didn't want political pressure put on them to do something about it."

Related Topics:
Secretary of State - Serbs - Yugoslavia - Kosovo War - USA - State Department - Peter Jennings - ABC News

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Albright made highly controversial remarks in an interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS's Sixty Minutes. Asked by Stahl with regards to effect of sanctions against Iraq: "We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" Albright replied: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price -- we think the price is worth it." (see)

Related Topics:
Leslie Stahl - CBS - Sixty Minutes - Hiroshima

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In 2000, Secretary Albright became one of the highest level Western diplomats to ever meet Kim Jong-il, the reclusive leader of North Korea.

Related Topics:
2000 - Kim Jong-il - North Korea

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