It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. Secretary of State.
Born on May 15, 1937 in then-Czechoslovakia, she and her family experienced the evils of Nazism and Communism before she came to the United States as a 11-year-old asylum seeker. As President Clinton’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and as Secretary of State, Dr. Albright was a determined and forceful voice against mass atrocities and advocated an ‘assertive multilateralism,’ including confronting war criminals like Slobodan Milosevic with military force if necessary. Dr. Albright recognized the United States as an indispensable leader to confront atrocities around the world, and advocated for the rights of women and girls all over the globe.
As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, she headed the U.S. delegation in 1995 to the historic Beijing UN World Conference on Women, joined by then-First Lady and later Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Throughout her entire career, Dr. Albright embodied the Women, Peace and Security principles. As Secretary of State she championed women’s political representation, as enshrined in the United Nations in Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security on October 31, 2000. She inspired generations of women like me to serve their country with all their intellect and heart.
Thank you, Madame Secretary.
Sahana Dharmapuri, Director of Our Secure Future
