Madeleine Albright

More than 1400 people, including President Joe Biden and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, are expected to attend Albright's funeral.

She was the first U.S. official to meet with Vladimir Putin after he became president of Russia in 2000. Obama awarded Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. "I don't think frankly that I was rougher, tougher or anything than any man. She knew what she was up against. Former teaching assistants of Albright's classes at Georgetown University served as ushers. "'The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we're going to leave to our grandchildren,'" Albright told Clinton, the former president recalled. More than 1,400 people, each wearing face masks at the request of the Albright family, packed the cathedral. "She loved to speak about America as the indispensable nation to her. It was so perfectly Madeleine." She knew what was hard. Clinton recalled his last conversation with Albright two weeks before she died. It was about gratitude for all this country made possible for her."

President Joe Biden on Wednesday eulogized Madeleine Albright, describing the first female US secretary of state as a "force of nature" and a champion of ...

Albright became a face of US foreign policy in the decade between the end of the Cold War and the war on terror triggered by the September 11, 2001, attacks -- an era heralded by President George H.W. Bush as a "new world order." , first serving as his US ambassador to the United Nations before he picked her in his second term to be the first female secretary of state. Her experience growing up in communist Yugoslavia and then fleeing to the US made her a lifelong opponent of totalitarianism and fascism. Albright's funeral service also featured tributes from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Albright's daughters -- Anne Albright, Alice Albright and Katharine Albright -- will speak as well. Albright, Biden said, was "always, and I mean always, on top of the latest developments. Albright -- a self-identified "pragmatic idealist" who coined the term "assertive multilateralism" to describe the Clinton administration's foreign policy -- drew from her childhood experiences growing up in and fleeing Yugoslavia to shape her worldview.

The former secretary of state, who died last month, will be honored at a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral drawing much of nation's top ...

Many of the key national security figures counted Ms. Albright as a mentor. Her daughters — Anne K. Albright, Alice P. Albright and Katharine M. Albright — will offer memorials to her. Ms. Albright had a long relationship with the cathedral. “It was not lost on me that Madeleine was a big part of the reason NATO was still strong and galvanized as it is today,” the president said. The cathedral service brought together a who’s who of the Democratic political and foreign policy establishments along with some Republican supporters. With her goodness and grace, her humanity and intellect, she turned the tide of history.” In her final guest essay for The New York Times in February, before the Russian invasion, she called for “forceful diplomatic pushback and increasing economic and military support for Ukraine.” As part of a family that fled Communism in Eastern Europe, Ms. Albright became America’s ambassador to the United Nations and the first female secretary of state. Addressing Ms. Albright’s three daughters, the president added: “Your mom was a force, a force of nature. At the time of her death, Ms. Albright served on the Cathedral chapter, the institution’s governing board. In addition to Mr. Biden, tributes will be delivered by Mr. Clinton, who named Ms. Albright secretary of state for a tour that lasted from 1997 to 2001, and Hillary Clinton, who as first lady was instrumental in pushing for her appointment and later filled her office at the State Department. WASHINGTON — President Biden and much of the nation’s top leadership paid tribute to former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright on Wednesday at a time when the West is confronting the very rise of authoritarianism she often warned about.

President Joe Biden called former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright a "force of nature" on Wednesday at a memorial service attended by former presidents ...

Albright served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 during President Clinton's first four-year term before becoming secretary of state, and was an active supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns. It was a testament to her belief in the endless possibilities that only America could help unlock around the world." "She loved to speak about America as the indispensable nation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The professor, businesswoman, mother and grandmother was heralded as a trailblazer after her death. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Madeleine Albright served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.

"In early 2000, I became the first senior U.S. official to meet with Vladimir Putin in his new capacity as acting president of Russia... Flying home, I recorded my impressions. "Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served... "Her name is still synonymous with America as a force for good in the world. Because she knew firsthand that America's policy decisions had the power to make a difference in people's lives around the world, she saw her jobs as both an obligation and an opportunity," the former president wrote in a statement the day Albright died. Madeleine never minced words or wasted time when she saw something needed fixing, or someone who needed helping. With the NATO alliance critical in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden highlighted her work to keep NATO "strong and galvanized" when she was the nation's top diplomat.

It's been four weeks since Albright died. Now, she'd tell us, we need to stay together – not only to support Ukraine, but to support America as well.

But many years ago, she taught me that those of us who are privileged to serve come to the table not only as ourselves – not only as Wendy Sherman, or even as Madeleine Albright – but as the United States of America. She taught me what it was to embrace that power, and to use it for good. That was one reason for her determined drive for NATO to expand in Central and Eastern Europe, to spread the defensive benefits of the alliance of democracies and create a more secure European continent. When I got that call four weeks ago telling me that Secretary Albright was gone, all I wanted to do was go home and mourn. And they have been critical as well to the sanctions, export controls and diplomatic measures to hold Putin and his enablers responsible for his premeditated, unprovoked, unjustified and brutal war. She loved America, and she loved democracy with her whole being because she knew the alternative all too well – from her own life, from her family’s story, from her academic studies and from her professional service. Secretary Albright was clear-eyed about the challenges of democracy, including America’s own often messy politics. And now that she is gone (her funeral is Wednesday), it is up to all of us to carry forward her legacy and continue strengthening the alliance so it can stand up to new challenges and threats, including the resurgence of autocrats, dictators and repressive strongmen. Three of her grandparents and many other relatives were murdered in the Holocaust. This, too, was part of her transatlantic story. And all of us have the power to shape our times for the better. Born in Prague, her family fled the Nazis to shelter in London, riding out the Blitz in basement shelters and Tube stations. Her professional life was dedicated to the alliance’s highest ideals – including democracy, freedom of expression and human rights. The Korbels became refugees, boarding the S.S. America, landing at Ellis Island. She became an American citizen in 1957, an event she described as the most important of her life.

Le président américain Joe Biden a salué mercredi la mémoire de l'ancienne secrétaire d'État Madeleine Albright, réfugiée enfant aux États unis avant ...

Connue pour son caractère de fer, celle qui se définissait pêle-mêle comme «réfugiée», «collectionneuse de broches» et «Américaine reconnaissante» aura une carrière brillante qui conduira le président Bill Clinton à la propulser, en février 1993, à la tête de la diplomatie américaine à l’ONU, puis à celle du département d’État, en janvier 1997. Le nom de Madeleine Albright, qui avait aussi été ambassadrice américaine auprès de l’ONU, «est toujours synonyme, comme celui de l’Amérique, d’une force pour le bien dans le monde», a également dit Joe Biden. Madeleine Albright, qui avait compris «ce dont était capable la puissance américaine», a «changé le cours de l’Histoire», a rendu hommage Joe Biden.

Madeleine Albright, qui avait compris « ce dont était capable la puissance américaine », a « changé le cours de l'Histoire », a rendu hommage Joe Biden.

Connue pour son caractère de fer, celle qui se définissait pêle-mêle comme « réfugiée », « collectionneuse de broches » et « Américaine reconnaissante » aura une carrière brillante qui conduira le président Bill Clinton à la propulser, en février 1993, à la tête de la diplomatie américaine à l’ONU, puis à celle du département d’État, en janvier 1997. Madeleine Albright, qui avait compris « ce dont était capable la puissance américaine », a « changé le cours de l’Histoire », a rendu hommage Joe Biden. Le nom de Madeleine Albright, qui avait aussi été ambassadrice américaine auprès de l’ONU, « est toujours synonyme, comme celui de l’Amérique, d’une force pour le bien dans le monde », a également dit Joe Biden.

U.S. leaders past and present praised former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a fighter against fascism and a champion of women on Wednesday.

Former President Clinton said he told her afterwards that it was the best line anyone had used in his administration until then. The professor, businesswoman, mother and grandmother was heralded as a trailblazer after her death. “She loved to speak about America as the indispensable nation. It was a testament to her belief in the endless possibilities that only America could help unlock around the world.” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who as first lady urged her husband, then President Bill Clinton, to choose Albright to be secretary of state, said it was important to heed the lessons of Albright’s life experience. U.S. leaders past and present praised former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a fighter against fascism and a champion of women on Wednesday at a funeral service honoring her life and legacy as the first woman to serve as the United States’ top diplomat.

Addressing world leaders and America's political elite paying final respects to Madeleine Albright, former U.S. president Bill Clinton recalled in his final ...

CTV News Investigates was able to find a vehicle stolen from an Ontario street more than six months earlier. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps. As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and one month before her death, The New York Times printed what would be Albright's last published writing. "Because if as Madeleine believed there's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women, they haven't seen anyone like her yet." She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. The two developed a strong friendship over the years. "In the 20th and 21st century, freedom had no greater champion than Madeleine Korbel Albright," Biden said. Albright died of cancer last month at age 84, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world that also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. "The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we're going to leave to our grandchildren," Clinton recalled Albright told him.

At the Washington National Cathedral, 1400 attendees honoured the refugee-turned-immigrant to the U.S., who was a scholar of international relations, ...

“The world is a better place for her remarkable public service and for her clear moral and political vision,” Ms. Freeland said. “She’d want that for her legacy in a time where the world’s problems are so close to her native country.” Ms. Albright broke through – and, in Mr. Biden’s words, “made sure that women belonged” in international affairs. “People like Madeleine Albright believed that American military and soft power could bring lasting peace,” said Peter Harris, a Colorado State University specialist in international relations. Ms. Freeland, among the 1,400 at the Albright rites, responded to a Globe and Mail request by writing that the former secretary of state was “an exceptional champion of democracy and human rights, and a role model for so many women who saw in her their rightful place at the head table of global leadership,” adding in an e-mail, “She understood the stakes in the fight between democracy and authoritarianism – stakes that have only continued to grow in the years since.” A fervent advocate of eastern expansion of NATO, Ms. Albright believed the alliance was a bulwark of stability in Europe and a guarantee of peace; the goal, she told a Senate armed services committee hearing in 1997, was “to extend eastward the peace and prosperity that Western Europe has enjoyed for the last 50 years.”

James P. Rubin was assistant Secretary of State for public affairs and Chief Spokesman for Secretary Madeleine Albright. He is now serving in Paris as ...

By linking the use of force to a diplomatic plan agreed with European allies as well as Russia, Belgrade was given every reasonable chance. To achieve support from other European members of NATO, she reminded them of the years of inaction on Bosnia. And then she proposed a strategy that required the Serbian leadership to agree to a peace plan or face the prospect of air strikes. There was a post-war plan that worked to minimize instability and bring order and democratic change. It was with respect to policy in the former Yugoslavia where Albright had the greatest impact. (This past year she noted with satisfaction that the only countries Russia was threatening with military action were the ones that didn’t make it into the Alliance.) But that didn’t stop her from doing all she could to keep Russia on side, whether that required her speaking in Russian or charming their top officials. For example, when she became secretary of State, she confided in me that she had decided to try to hire the strongest possible team, even if that meant the difficulty of dealing with the above-average male egos that inevitably come with strong personalities. In the 1990s, Secretary Albright really was a woman alone in a sea of men. The first hurdle to overcome was Washington’s reluctance to get involved in another Balkan war. And it took a lot of confidence and charm to operate as the only woman. For seven remarkable years, from 1993 to 2000, at the United Nations and the State Department, serving as her spokesman and close adviser, I watched her shape American foreign policy at a very special time in history. Because Albright understood the Central and East European mindset, with all its anxieties and insecurities, she knew exactly how to reassure these countries about the U.S. commitment to their freedom and security. Indeed, after her passing, President Clinton paid tribute to her historic role in building a Europe free and at peace.

US leaders reflected on legacy of US secretary of state as family shared memories at Washington National Cathedral.

“She knew better than most – and she warned us in her book on fascism – that yes, it can happen here. “Today we see in Ukraine all too tragically what Madeleine always knew – that the advance of freedom is neither inevitable or permanent. For Albright, the right of a country to determine its own destiny was personal. Albright’s funeral service came two months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the war is now poised to enter a new, potentially more dangerous phase. “In the 20th and 21st century, freedom had no greater champion than Madeleine Korbel Albright.” In the modern era, great countries accept that, and so must Mr. Putin.”

Led by President Joe Biden and predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the man who picked Albright to be his top diplomat and the highest-ranking woman ...

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps. Other top current officials expected to be present included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Mark Milley and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were masked, as Albright’s family had requested. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him. Albright died of cancer last month at age 84, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world that also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. The two developed a strong friendship over the years.

And Clinton, the man who appointed her first as his U.N. ambassador in 1993 and then as secretary of state in 1996, said his last conversation with Albright ...

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. Hillary Clinton recalled stories that she had lobbied for Albright to serve as secretary of state, a role that Clinton would serve in herself during the Obama administration. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and one month before her death, The New York Times printed what would be Albright's last published writing. On another occasion in Beijing, Clinton recalled that she and Albright had marched through mud in a torrential downpour and confronted Chinese security forces to meet women's rights activists. and Hillary Clinton recalled a pair of stories about her and Albright on visits overseas during which they bonded. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him.