And she leaves behind a lasting legacy.
There are few women as influential as political pioneer Madeleine Albright, who died Wednesday at the age of 84 following a battle with cancer.
After becoming the first female secretary of state in 1997, Albright is credited with shaping Western foreign policy as we know it today, and opening up opportunities for women in positions of power. That includes Hillary Clinton, who served in the same role as Albright under the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. As one of Albright’s most famous sayings goes, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.”
As news of her death became public, condolences poured in, including from State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “She was a trailblazer as the first female secretary of state and quite literally opened doors for a large element of our workforce,” Price said.
“Grateful American”
Albright was born in 1937 and immigrated with her family from Czechoslovakia 11 years later. Her family eventually settled in Denver, where her father, Josef Korbel, served as a dean at the University of Denver. As The Washington Post notes, that’s where Korbel became the mentor of future secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Though Albright was raised Catholic, she later learned during her secretary of state confirmation in 1997 that she actually had Jewish ancestry, and three of her grandparents died in the Holocaust.
“I lived in many, many places,” Albright told USA TODAY in 2020 after being recognized as one of the publication’s Women of the Century. “I was asked to describe myself in six words at dinner, which were ‘worried, optimist, problem solver, grateful American.'”
Unlikely catalyst
Albright’s foray into politics was sparked in what initially seemed like a setback. In 1982, her husband left her for another woman. Though it left her devastated, the divorce settlement made her a millionaire, which helped her raise money for Democratic candidates and become a foreign policy adviser. In fact, she met future President Bill Clinton while working for Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis during his doomed 1988 presidential bid. Then in 1993, Clinton appointed her Ambassador to the United Nations before making her his Secretary of State, and effectively the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.
Notable achievements
Albright became a central figure in the Clinton administration: Not only did she help champion the expansion of NATO, she also helped stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and worked to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons.
Among her peers, she was perhaps most admired for her no-nonsense approach to foreign policy. Her most famous quip came after a Cuban pilot boasted about shooting into a civilian plane’s cojones — Spanish slang for testicles — to which Albright replied: “Frankly, this is not cojones; this is cowardice.” As Katie explored in her 2009 special on CBS, Albright also wielded her power in style and was known for her eclectic assortment of pins.
Albright went on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, and following her diplomatic career, wrote several best-selling books, including her 2003 memoir, Madam Secretary.
