Madeleine Albright, First Woman Secretary of State, Dead at 84
Madeleine Albright, the first woman secretary of state, died on Wednesday at the age of 84.
Her family announced her death in a statement. “We are heartbroken to announced that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today,” the statement read. “The cause was cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.”
Below is a statement from the family of @Madeleine: pic.twitter.com/C7Xt0EN5c9
— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) March 23, 2022
Albright served as President Bill Clinton’s chief delegate to the United Nations before he nominated her for secretary of state, a position she held from 1997 to 2001. “As secretary, I will do my best to talk about foreign policy not in abstract terms, but in human terms and bipartisan terms,” she said in a speech delivered shortly after assuming the role. “I consider this vital because in our democracy, we cannot pursue policies abroad that are not understood and supported here at home.”
Bill and Hillary Clinton released a joint statement Wednesday afternoon. “Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the time in which they served,” they wrote, noting that Albright’s upbringing in Europe allowed her to see that “America’s policy decisions had the power to make a difference in people’s lives around the world.”
My statement on the passing of Madeleine Albright—one of the finest Secretaries of State, an outstanding UN Ambassador, a brilliant professor, and an extraordinary human being. pic.twitter.com/50QXFhzGit
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) March 23, 2022
“So many people around the world are alive and living better lives because of her service,” Hillary, who served as secretary of state under President Obama, added in a tweet.
The Biden administration weighed in shortly after Albright’s death was announced. “The impact she has had on this building is felt every single day in just about every single corridor,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. He added that current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and others in the State Department considered Albright a mentor. “She was a trailblazer as the first female secretary of state, and quite literally opened doors for a large element of our workforce,” Price continued.
State Dept. spokesperson Ned Price says former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's death is "devastating," calling her a "trailblazer."
"Our thoughts, of course, are with her family and the many people she touched in this building, in this country and around the world." pic.twitter.com/6V1JTUSLTP
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 23, 2022
The White House has ordered flags to be flown at half mast in honor of Albright’s death.