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Madeleine Albright

· Born: 15 May 1937

·         Birthplace: Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) =

·         Best Known As: U.S. Secretary of St= ate

·         Born to a member = of the Czech diplomatic corps, Madeleine Albright lived in Belgrade, London and Pr= ague before her family settled in Colorado. She earned a political science degree from Wellesley in 1959, and was later awarded a doctorate in public law and government from Columbia. In 1978 she joined the staff of the National Secu= rity Council and began establishing herself as an expert in foreign affairs. President Bill Clinton named her the U.S. delegate to the United Nations and then, in late 1996, Secretary of State. She was the first woman ever to hold that post.

·         In filling the sensitive diplomatic post of ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.), Presi= dent Clinton turned to a prominent Washington insider with an extensive backgrou= nd in academia together with strong political connections. Rewarding Madeleine Albright for her support of Democratic Party candidates and making her the second woman to serve as chief of mission at the United Nations, he also signaled the weight to be assigned to international frameworks in American foreign policy by making her a member of his cabinet.

·         Albright's important career milestone came in 1982, when she joined the faculty of Georgetown University and expa= nded both her interests and personal contacts. As a research professor of international affairs and director of women students enrolled in the foreign service program at the university's School of Foreign Service, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international studies, U.S. foreign relations, Russian foreign policy, and central and eastern European politic= s. She was also instrumental in developing programs designed to enhance professional opportunities for women in international affairs. She also bec= ame affiliated with the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies as a senior fellow in Soviet and eastern European affairs. In October of 1989 she took over the presidency of the Center for National Policy, a Washington-based nonprofit research organization formed = in 1981 as a Democratic think tank with a mandate to generate discussion and s= tudy about domestic and international issues.

·         Parallel with her research and teaching, Albright deepened her involvement in Democratic Party politics. She acted as an adviser to both Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferr= aro during the 1984 presidential election year; and as an adviser to Michael S. Dukakis in 1988 when he failed in his bid to defeat Republican George Bush.= She was more successful, however, in 1992, when she endorsed Arkansas Governor = Bill Clinton's candidacy. During the campaign she served as his senior foreign policy adviser, and in the transition period as foreign policy liaison in t= he White House prior to her U.N. posting.

·         Madeleine Albrigh= t was nominated by President Clinton in 1996 for the position of Secretary of Sta= te. In 1997 the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination. This appointm= ent made Albright the first female to hold the position of Secretary of State. = This designation also bestows her with the title of highest-ranking female within the United States government.

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