Historical Figure
Madeleine Albright
d. 2022
American diplomat and political scientist (1937–2022)
Talk to Madeleine Albright
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright was a Czech-born American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman to hold the position.
In Their Own Words (5)
There is a significant moral difference between a person who commits a violent crime and a person who tries to cross a border illegally in order to put food on the family table. Such migrants may violate our laws against illicit entry, but if that's all they do then they are trespassers, not criminals. They deserve to have their dignity respected.
On illegal migrants to the United States from Mexico and Central America, in Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership (2008), p. 225 , 2008
When we're trying to solve difficult national issues its sometimes necessary to talk to adversaries as well as friends. Historians have a word for this: diplomacy.
Speech at Harvard forum (April 11, 2007) , 2007
The victor of the war in Iraq is Iran.
Speech at a Harvard Institute of Politics/Harvard Divinity School forum (April 11, 2007), quoted in the Harvard Crimson , 2007
What really troubles me is that democracy is getting a bad name because it is identified with imposition and occupation. I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.
When asked what she considered the greatest mistake of the George W. Bush administration, interview with Deborah Solomon, New York Times (April 23, 2006) , 2006
Lesley Stahl: 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? Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price—we think the price is worth it.
Stated on CBS's 60 Minutes (May 12, 1996). Albright was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at the time. , 1996
Timeline
The story of Madeleine Albright, told in moments.
Born Marie Jana Korbelova in Prague. Her family fled twice: first from the Nazis in 1939, then from the Communists in 1948. Twenty-six of her relatives died in the Holocaust. She didn't learn about her Jewish heritage until she was 59 years old.
Appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations by Bill Clinton. She becomes known for blunt talk and a collection of diplomatic brooches. When Saddam Hussein calls her a serpent, she wears a snake pin to the next meeting.
Sworn in as Secretary of State. The first woman to hold the position. She serves during the Kosovo crisis, the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and the expansion of NATO. She pushes for intervention when others hesitate.
Publishes Prague Winter, a memoir about her childhood and the discovery of her Jewish ancestry. She'd been raised Catholic. Her parents never told her. Three of her grandparents died at Auschwitz and Theresienstadt.
Dies in Washington, D.C. Cancer. She was 84. Her brooch collection, numbering over 200 pieces, was donated to the Smithsonian. Each one had been a deliberate message.
More from the Contemporary
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Madeleine Albright's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.