Madeleine Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová on May 15, 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997.Albright was born on May 15, 1937 in the Smíchov district of Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia. At the time of her birth, Czechoslovakia had been independent for less than 20 years, having gained independence from Austria after World War One. Her father, Josef Korbel, was a Jewish Czech diplomat and supporter of the early Czech democrats, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš.[1] She was his first child with his Jewish wife Anna (née Spieglová), who later also had another daughter Katherine (a schoolteacher) and son John (an economist). At the time of Albright’s birth, Korbel was serving as press-attaché at the Czechoslovak Embassy in Belgrade. However, the signing of the Munich Agreement in March 1938 and the disintegration of Czechoslovakia at the hands of Adolf Hitler forced the family into exile because of their links with Benes. Prior to their flight, Albright's parents had converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism. Albright spent the War years in England, while her father worked for Benes’ Czechoslovak government-in-exile. They first lived on Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill, London, where they endured the worst of the Blitz, but later moved to Beaconsfield, then Walton-on-Thames, on the outer skirts of London.[4] While in England, a young Albright appeared as a refugee child in a film designed to promote sympathy for all War refugees in London.
Prior to being named US Secretary of State, Albright discovered what she claims was an unknown Jewish heritage. Many of her Jewish relatives in Czechoslovakia perished in the Holocaust, including three of her grandparents. Albright was raised Catholic, although later in life, she joined the Episcopal Church of USA.
After the defeat of the Nazis in the European Theatre of World War II and the collapse of Nazi Germany and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Albright and family moved back to Prague, where they were given a luxurious apartment in the Hradcany district (which later caused controversy, as it had belonged to an ethnic German Bohemian industrialist family forced out by the Beneš decrees - see "Controversies"). Korbel was named Czechoslovak Ambassador to communist Yugoslavia, and the family moved to Belgrade. Communists governed Yugoslavia, and Korbel was concerned his daughter would be indoctrinated with Marxist ideology in a Yugoslav school, so she was taught by a governess and later sent to the Prealpina Institut pour Jeunes Filles in Chexbres, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Here, she learned French and went by Madeleine, the French version of Madlenka, her Czech nickname.
However, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took over the government in 1948, with support from the Soviet Union, and as an opponent of Communism, Korbel was forced to resign from his position. He later obtained a position on a United Nations delegation to Kashmir, and sent his family to the United States, by way of London, to wait for him when he arrived to deliver his report to the UN Headquarters, then in Lake Success, New York.[9] The family arrived in New York in November 1948, and initially settled in Great Neck, on Long Island.[10] Korbel applied for political asylum, arguing that as an opponent of Communism he was now under threat in Prague.[11] With the help of Philip Mosely, a professor of Russian at Columbia University, Korbel obtained a position on the staff of the political science department at the University of Denver.[12] He became dean of the University’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, and later taught future US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Albright spent her teen years in Denver, and graduated from Kent School in 1955, where she founded the school’s international relations club and was its first president.[13] She attended Wellesley College on a full scholarship, majoring in political science and graduating in 1959.[14] Her senior thesis was written on Czech Communist Zdenek Fierlinger.[15] She became a US citizen in 1957, and joined the College Democrats.[16]
While home in Denver from Wellesley, Albright worked as an intern for The Denver Post, where she met Joseph Medill Patterson Albright, the nephew of Alicia Patterson, owner of Newsday and wife of philanthropist Harry Frank Guggenheim.[17] The couple were married in 1959, shortly after her graduation, in Wellesley.[14] They lived first in Rolla, Missouri, while he served his military service at nearby Fort Leonard Wood.[18] During this time, she worked at the Rolla Daily News.[18]
In January 1960 the couple moved to his hometown of Chicago, where he worked at the Chicago Sun-Times as a journalist, and Albright worked as a picture editor for Encyclopedia Brittanica.[19] The following year, Joseph Albright began work at Newsday in New York City, and the couple moved to Garden City, Long Island.[20] That year, she gave birth to twin daughters Alice Patterson and Anne Korbel Albright. The twins were six weeks premature, and required a long hospital stay, so as a distraction, Albright began Russian classes at Hofstra University.[20] In 1962, the family moved to Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Albright began studying international relations and Russian at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.[21] However, in 1963 Alicia Patterson died, and the family returned to Long Island with the notion of Joseph taking over the family business.[22] Albright gave birth to another daughter, Katherine Medill Albright, in 1967, and continued her studies at Columbia University.[23] She earned a certificate in Russian, an M.A. and Ph.D, writing her M.A. dissertation on the Soviet diplomatic corps, and her Ph.D thesis on the role of journalists in the Prague Spring of 1968.[24] She also took a graduate course given by Zbigniew Brzezinski, who would later be her boss at the National Security Council.[25]
The family returned to Washington in 1968, and Albright commuted to Columbia for her PhD, which she received in 1975.[26] She began fund-raising for her daughter’s school, which led to several positions on education boards.[27] She was eventually invited to organize a fund-raising dinner for Senator Ed Muskie of Maine’s presidential campaign in 1972.[28] This association with Muskie led to a position as his chief legislative assistant in 1976.[29] However, after the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976, Albright's former professor Zbigniew Brzezinski was named National Security Advisor, and recruited Albright from Muskie in 1978 to work in the West Wing as the National Security Council’s congressional liaison.[29] Following Carter's loss in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, Albright moved on to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution, where she was given a grant for a research project.[30] She chose to write on the dissident journalists involved in Poland's Solidarity movement, then in its infancy but gaining international attention.[30] She traveled to Poland for her research, interviewing dissidents in Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow.[31] Upon her return to Washington, her husband announced his intention to divorce her for another woman.[32]
In addition to her PhD, Albright was also awarded Honorary Doctors of Laws from the University of Washington in 2002, University of Winnipeg in 2005, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007 and Knox College in 2008 [33] Today, Secretary Albright is once again a professor at Georgetown, and serves as a Director on the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations.[34]
Albright is multilingual, being fluent in English, French, and Czech in addition to Russian, with good speaking and reading abilities in Polish and Serbo-Croatian.
Madeleine Albright has served as a lecturer in political science and international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. since 1982, specializing in Eastern European studies.[35] She has also directed the University's program on women in global politics.[36] She has also served as a major Democratic Party foreign policy advisor, and briefed Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988 (both campaigns ended in defeat).[37] In 1992, Bill Clinton returned the White House to the Democrats, and Albright was employed to handle the transition to a new administration at the National Security Council.[38] In January 1993, Clinton nominated her to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations, her first diplomatic posting.[39]
When Madeleine Albright was confirmed as the 64th Secretary of State of the United States, she became the first female United States Secretary of State and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States government. Not being a natural born citizen of the United States, she was not eligible as Presidential Successor and was excluded from nuclear contingency plans. As Secretary, Dr. Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor and environmental standards abroad.
During her tenure, Albright considerably influenced American policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Middle East. She incurred the wrath of a number of Serbs in the former Yugoslavia for her role in participating in the formulation of US policy during the Kosovo War and Bosnian war as well as the rest of the Balkans. But, together with President Bill Clinton, she remains a largely popular figure in the rest of the region, especially Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Croatia. According to Albright's memoirs, she once argued with Colin Powell for the use of military force by asking, "What’s the point of you saving this superb military for, Colin, if we can't use it?"As Secretary of State she represented the United States at the Handover of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. She boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the China-appointed Legislative Council, which replaced the elected one, along with the British contingents.[53]
In 2000, Secretary Albright became one of the highest level Western diplomats ever to meet Kim Jong-il, the communist leader of North Korea, during an official state visit to that country.[56]
Following Albright's term as US Secretary of State, many speculated that she might pursue a career in Czech politics. Czech President Václav Havel talked openly about the possibility of Albright succeeding him after he retired in 2002. Albright was reportedly flattered by suggestions that she should run for office, but denied ever seriously considering it.[58] She was the 2nd recipient of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award presented by the Prague Society for International Cooperation.
In 2001, Albright founded the Albright Group, an international strategy consulting firm founded based in Washington, D.C.[59] It has Coca-Cola, Merck, Dubai Ports World, and Marsh & McLennan Companies among its clients, who benefit from the access that Albright has through her global contacts.[60][61] Affiliated with the firm is Albright Capital Management, which was founded in 2005 to engage in private fund management related to emerging markets.[61]
Albright currently serves on the Council on Foreign Relations Board of directors and on the International Advisory Committee of the Brookings Doha Center.[62] She is also currently the Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC. On October 25, 2005, Albright guest starred on the TV drama Gilmore Girls as herself.
In 2003, she accepted a position on the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2005, Albright declined to run for re-election to the Board in the aftermath of the Grasso compensation scandal, in which the Chairman of the NYSE Board of Directors, Dick Grasso, had been granted $187.5-million dollars in compensation, with little governance by the board on which Albright sat. During the tenure of the interim chairman, John S. Reed, Albright served as chairwoman of the NYSE board's nominating and governance committee. Shortly after the appointment of the NYSE board's permanent chairman in 2005, Albright submitted her resignation.[63]
On January 5, 2006, she participated in a meeting at the White House of former Secretaries of Defense and State to discuss United States foreign policy with George W. Bush administration officials. On May 5, 2006 she was again invited to the White House to meet with former Secretaries and Bush administration officials to discuss Iraq.
Albright currently serves as chairperson of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and as president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. She is also the co-chair of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor and held the Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders Women's Ministerial Initiative up until November 16, 2007, succeeded by Margot Wallström.
In an interview given to Newsweek International published July 24, 2006, Albright gave her opinion on current United States foreign policy. Albright said: "I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid that Iraq is going to turn out to be the greatest disaster in American foreign policy—worse than Vietnam."[64]
In September 2006, she received the Menschen in Europa Award, with Václav Havel, for furthering the cause of international understanding.[65]
Albright has mentioned her physical fitness and exercise regimen in several interviews. She has said she is capable of leg pressing 400 pounds.[66][67]
At the National Press Club in Washington on November 13, 2007, Albright declared that she with William Cohen would co-chair a new "Genocide Prevention Task Force"[68] created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States Institute for Peace. Their appointment was criticized by Harut Sassounian[69] and the Armenian National Committee of America.[70]
On May 13, 2007, two days before her 70th birthday, Albright received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Albright endorsed and supported Hillary Clinton in her 2008 campaign for President of the United States. Albright has been a close friend of Secretary of State Clinton and serves as her top informal advisor on foreign policy matters. She is currently serving as a top advisor for United States President Barack Obama in a working group on national security. On December 1, 2008, President-elect Obama nominated then-Senator Clinton for Albright's former post of Secretary of State.
After her retirement, Albright published her memoir, Madam Secretary (2003), The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006) and Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership (2008).
A Museum of Arts and Design 2009 ősztétől ad otthont az Albright 200 kedvenc melltűjét felvonultató tárlatnak. Az egykori amerikai fődiplomata nemcsak egyenes, állhatatos tárgyalási stílusáról volt híres, hanem arról is, hogy a mellén viselt brosst mindig hangulatához, üzenetéhez igazította.A kiállított darabok között van az az aranykígyót ábrázoló melltű is, amelyet egy iraki látogatásakor hordott azután, hogy Szaddám Huszein kormánya viperafajzatnak nevezte őt.
Albright asszony a melldíszeivel mindig kiegészítette, nyomatékosította külügyminiszteri mondanivalóját - mutatott rá Holly Hotchner, a múzeum igazgatója.
A sorrendben 64. amerikai külügyminiszter olyan híres volt melltűdiplomáciájáról, hogy egyszer, amikor nyakláncot vett fel egy politikamentes eseményre, amelynek szónoka volt, a rendezők ragaszkodtak ahhoz, hogy brossal a mellén lépjen a meghívottak elé.
A jelenleg a washingtoni Georgetown Egyetemen tanító Albright nem az ékkövek miatt hordott brossokat, hanem azok formája és rajzolata, belső üzenete miatt, számára a melltű kommunikációs eszköz volt - mondta David Revere McFadden főkurátor.
A tárlaton a legkülönbözőbb témájú brossok lesznek láthatók, kezdve azoktól, amelyek Amerikához kötődnek, zászlókkal és sasokkal, olyanokig, amelyek a természettel, az élővilággal kapcsolatosak, például a sokféle rovarmelltűig. Albright mindig nagy kínálatot vitt magával külföldi útjaira, hogy legyen miből választania bármilyen helyzetben.
Az egykori külügyminiszter például léggömbös melltűt viselt, ha a tárgyalások könnyűnek ígérkeztek. Méhes bross jelezte, ha Albright kellemetlen tárgyalásra számított és igyekezett a maga szájíze szerint alakítani az egyeztetést. Gyakran viselte azt a galambos brosst, amelyet Leah Rabin ajándékozott neki, aki az 1995-ben, egy a béketárgyalásokat ellenző radikális által meggyilkolt Jichak Rabin izraeli miniszterelnök felesége volt.
A kurátorok szerint a 2009. szeptember 30. és 2010. január 31. között látható New York-i kiállításon nincsenek különösebben értékes ékszerek, sok melltű egyenesen olcsó tömegtermék, de mindet viselte Albright a világot járva. A volt külügyminiszternek legalább két évig le kell mondania kedvenc brossairól, a vándortárlatot ugyanis több városban is bemutatják. A múzeum szerint Albright emiatt egyáltalán nem aggódik, inkább lehetőséget lát arra, hogy bővítse gyűjteményét.
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