Madeleine Albright was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State. She was born to Czech refugees who fled from Nazi and Communist oppression to the United States. Albright gained recognition for her exceptional analysis of world affairs and her role as a counselor on national security to the White House. During President Clinton’s term, she became the highest-ranking woman in the history of American government at the time, serving as the US Ambassador to the United Nations (1993-1997) and Secretary of State (1997-2001). She also advised President Carter and three presidential candidates, including Walter F. Mondale, Michael S. Dukakis, and Clinton. Additionally, Albright was the foreign policy adviser to Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run for Vice President. In 1962, Albright began her postgraduate studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, a Washington-based division of Johns Hopkins University, and later earned a Russian certificate, a master’s degree in international affairs, and Ph.D. at Columbia University. She taught at Georgetown University and was Director of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US highest civilian honor.
