Albright, Madeleine Korbel (1937-2022), served as secretary of state of the United States from 1997 to 2001. She was the first woman to hold the post. President Bill Clinton appointed her to the office. Albright had served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN) from 1993 to 1997. At the UN, she became known as an outspoken supporter of human rights and the use of UN peacekeeping forces in troubled areas. 
Albright was born on May 15, 1937, in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Her maiden name was Madeleine Korbel. Her father was a Czech diplomat. When Nazi German forces occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, her father fled with his family to Yugoslavia and, eventually, to Britain. The family returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945 but fled again in 1948 when Communists took over the country. They settled in the United States.
Albright received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in 1959 and a doctorate in government from Columbia University in 1976. She was married to Joseph Albright, a journalist, from 1959 to 1983.
Albright served as a member of President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Council staff from 1978 to 1981. She was a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University from 1982 to 1993. She returned to Georgetown in the 2000’s to teach in the university’s school of foreign service.
After leaving her Cabinet post in 2001, Albright also spent much of her time writing. Her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir, was published in 2003. Albright’s other books include The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006); Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership (2008); and Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box (2009). Albright’s book Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 (2012) tells the story of her family’s experience during the Holocaust. Albright died on March 23, 2022.
