Condoleezza Rice Born: Future Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice became the first Black woman to serve as United States Secretary of State, navigating post-9/11 foreign policy during two of the most consequential terms in modern American diplomacy. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1954, she grew up in the segregated South during the civil rights era. She was eight years old when the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed in 1963, killing four girls she knew. Her childhood friend Denise McNair was among the dead. Her parents, both educators, channeled her through a rigorous academic path that led to the University of Denver at fifteen, a master's degree from Notre Dame, and a doctorate in political science from the Graduate School of International Studies. She became an expert on Soviet affairs and was appointed to the National Security Council under the first President Bush during the collapse of the Soviet Union. At Stanford University, she became the youngest, first female, and first Black provost, managing a $1.5 billion budget and overseeing 14,000 students. George W. Bush appointed her National Security Advisor in 2001, making her the first woman to hold the position. She was in the White House Situation Room on September 11 and became a central figure in the administration's response to the attacks, including the decision to invade Afghanistan and the controversial case for war in Iraq. She succeeded Colin Powell as Secretary of State in 2005 and served until 2009. Her legacy is inseparable from the Iraq War, which she championed as National Security Advisor and managed as Secretary of State as the conflict devolved into insurgency.