Madeleine Albright

President Joe Biden on Wednesday eulogized Madeleine Albright, describing the first female US secretary of state as a "force of nature" and a champion of ...

Albright became a face of US foreign policy in the decade between the end of the Cold War and the war on terror triggered by the September 11, 2001, attacks -- an era heralded by President George H.W. Bush as a "new world order." , first serving as his US ambassador to the United Nations before he picked her in his second term to be the first female secretary of state. Her experience growing up in communist Yugoslavia and then fleeing to the US made her a lifelong opponent of totalitarianism and fascism. Albright's funeral service also featured tributes from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Albright's daughters -- Anne Albright, Alice Albright and Katharine Albright -- will speak as well. Albright, Biden said, was "always, and I mean always, on top of the latest developments. Albright -- a self-identified "pragmatic idealist" who coined the term "assertive multilateralism" to describe the Clinton administration's foreign policy -- drew from her childhood experiences growing up in and fleeing Yugoslavia to shape her worldview.

The former secretary of state, who died last month, will be honored at a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral drawing much of nation's top ...

Many of the key national security figures counted Ms. Albright as a mentor. Her daughters — Anne K. Albright, Alice P. Albright and Katharine M. Albright — will offer memorials to her. Ms. Albright had a long relationship with the cathedral. “It was not lost on me that Madeleine was a big part of the reason NATO was still strong and galvanized as it is today,” the president said. The cathedral service brought together a who’s who of the Democratic political and foreign policy establishments along with some Republican supporters. With her goodness and grace, her humanity and intellect, she turned the tide of history.” In her final guest essay for The New York Times in February, before the Russian invasion, she called for “forceful diplomatic pushback and increasing economic and military support for Ukraine.” As part of a family that fled Communism in Eastern Europe, Ms. Albright became America’s ambassador to the United Nations and the first female secretary of state. Addressing Ms. Albright’s three daughters, the president added: “Your mom was a force, a force of nature. At the time of her death, Ms. Albright served on the Cathedral chapter, the institution’s governing board. In addition to Mr. Biden, tributes will be delivered by Mr. Clinton, who named Ms. Albright secretary of state for a tour that lasted from 1997 to 2001, and Hillary Clinton, who as first lady was instrumental in pushing for her appointment and later filled her office at the State Department. WASHINGTON — President Biden and much of the nation’s top leadership paid tribute to former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright on Wednesday at a time when the West is confronting the very rise of authoritarianism she often warned about.

Led by President Joe Biden and predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the man who picked Albright to be his top diplomat and the highest-ranking woman ...

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. Other top current officials expected to be present included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Mark Milley and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were masked, as Albright’s family had requested.

Madeleine Albright served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.

"In early 2000, I became the first senior U.S. official to meet with Vladimir Putin in his new capacity as acting president of Russia... Flying home, I recorded my impressions. "Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served... "Her name is still synonymous with America as a force for good in the world. Because she knew firsthand that America's policy decisions had the power to make a difference in people's lives around the world, she saw her jobs as both an obligation and an opportunity," the former president wrote in a statement the day Albright died. Madeleine never minced words or wasted time when she saw something needed fixing, or someone who needed helping. With the NATO alliance critical in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden highlighted her work to keep NATO "strong and galvanized" when she was the nation's top diplomat.

Some 1400 mourners gathered Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral, led by President Joe Biden and predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps. Other top current officials expected to be present included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Mark Milley and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were masked, as Albright’s family had requested. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him. Albright died of cancer last month at age 84, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world that also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. The two developed a strong friendship over the years.

James P. Rubin was assistant Secretary of State for public affairs and Chief Spokesman for Secretary Madeleine Albright. He is now serving in Paris as ...

By linking the use of force to a diplomatic plan agreed with European allies as well as Russia, Belgrade was given every reasonable chance. To achieve support from other European members of NATO, she reminded them of the years of inaction on Bosnia. And then she proposed a strategy that required the Serbian leadership to agree to a peace plan or face the prospect of air strikes. There was a post-war plan that worked to minimize instability and bring order and democratic change. It was with respect to policy in the former Yugoslavia where Albright had the greatest impact. (This past year she noted with satisfaction that the only countries Russia was threatening with military action were the ones that didn’t make it into the Alliance.) But that didn’t stop her from doing all she could to keep Russia on side, whether that required her speaking in Russian or charming their top officials. For example, when she became secretary of State, she confided in me that she had decided to try to hire the strongest possible team, even if that meant the difficulty of dealing with the above-average male egos that inevitably come with strong personalities. In the 1990s, Secretary Albright really was a woman alone in a sea of men. The first hurdle to overcome was Washington’s reluctance to get involved in another Balkan war. And it took a lot of confidence and charm to operate as the only woman. For seven remarkable years, from 1993 to 2000, at the United Nations and the State Department, serving as her spokesman and close adviser, I watched her shape American foreign policy at a very special time in history. Because Albright understood the Central and East European mindset, with all its anxieties and insecurities, she knew exactly how to reassure these countries about the U.S. commitment to their freedom and security. Indeed, after her passing, President Clinton paid tribute to her historic role in building a Europe free and at peace.

Washington National CathedralWashington, D.C. 11:33 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Freedom endures against all odds in the face of every aggressor because there.

It was a testament to her belief in the endless possibilities that only America could help unlock around the world and to her understanding of what American power could achieve when it was united with and motivated by enduring American values. I know it’s hard, but I promise you: She’s always with you — in your mind, in your heart, and part of your soul. I think part of the reason why Madeleine was such a successful diplomat was that she understood something I’ve always believed. (Laughter.) I — I was the chairman or the ranking member for a good part of that time. She was the same way. And as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from the time I was a kid — God, they were the good old days. Presidents and leaders around the world continued to solicit her advice, including me. With her goodness and grace, her humanity, and her intellect, she turned the tide of history. Today, across our government and around the world, Madeleine’s protégés are legion. And Madeleine didn’t stop when she left government. People and nations around the world were deciding the future they wanted to make for themselves. The interior of the castle — a beautiful courtyard — holds about 5-, 600 people.

Some 1400 mourners gathered Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral, led by President Joe Biden and predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps. Other top current officials expected to be present included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Mark Milley and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were masked, as Albright’s family had requested. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him. Albright died of cancer last month at age 84, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world that also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. The two developed a strong friendship over the years.

US leaders reflected on legacy of US secretary of state as family shared memories at Washington National Cathedral.

“She knew better than most – and she warned us in her book on fascism – that yes, it can happen here. “Today we see in Ukraine all too tragically what Madeleine always knew – that the advance of freedom is neither inevitable or permanent. For Albright, the right of a country to determine its own destiny was personal. Albright’s funeral service came two months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the war is now poised to enter a new, potentially more dangerous phase. “In the 20th and 21st century, freedom had no greater champion than Madeleine Korbel Albright.” In the modern era, great countries accept that, and so must Mr. Putin.”

Led by President Joe Biden and predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the man who picked Albright to be his top diplomat and the highest-ranking woman ...

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps. Other top current officials expected to be present included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Mark Milley and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were masked, as Albright’s family had requested. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him. Albright died of cancer last month at age 84, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world that also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. The two developed a strong friendship over the years.

And Clinton, the man who appointed her first as his U.N. ambassador in 1993 and then as secretary of state in 1996, said his last conversation with Albright ...

She then entered politics and what was at the time the male-dominated world of foreign policy professionals. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of Democratic Party foreign policy circles to become ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton selected her as secretary of state in 1996 for his second term. As U.N. ambassador, she advocated a tough U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the case of Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “Madeleine’s War.” As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. Albright was an internationalist whose point of view was shaped in part by her background. Hillary Clinton recalled stories that she had lobbied for Albright to serve as secretary of state, a role that Clinton would serve in herself during the Obama administration. She also remembered Albright as a fearless diplomat that broke barriers and then counseled, cajoled and inspired women to follow in her footsteps. On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and one month before her death, The New York Times printed what would be Albright's last published writing. On another occasion in Beijing, Clinton recalled that she and Albright had marched through mud in a torrential downpour and confronted Chinese security forces to meet women's rights activists. and Hillary Clinton recalled a pair of stories about her and Albright on visits overseas during which they bonded. “Because if as Madeleine believed there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women, they haven’t seen anyone like her yet.” “The only thing that really matters is what kind of world we’re going to leave to our grandchildren,” Clinton recalled Albright told him.

“With her goodness and grace, her humanity and her intellect, she turned the tide of history,” President Biden said, at Madeleine Korbel Albright's funeral ...

“What is she doing in the waiting room? “Tell me about your mother,” she said to him. “That’s part of the ‘special place in hell’ thing, because we’re very judgmental about each other. The mood in that cathedral shifted when the women spoke. “She was the kind who called every day. One rarely discussed in the grand nave.

Madeleine Albright was eulogized April 27 at a funeral service at Washington's National Cathedral by notable friends and family gathered to remember the ...

Anne, Alice, Katie, and her grandchildren — each of you — each of you is literally a tribute to her enormous capacity to love.” “Today, across our government and around the world, Madeleine’s protégés are legion,” he said. “Your mom was a force, a force of nature. “Even though she became one of the world’s top diplomats. “Mom took a particular interest whenever I let her know that I was visiting refugees or working to help girls get a better chance for an education. “Albright says she was raised as a Catholic from earliest memory,” says a 1997 article from The Washington Post, recounting what little is known about her Jewish family becoming Catholic, a move likely taken to escape persecution.

Brzezinski recounted at a private reception honoring Albright on Wednesday at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C., how she met Albright as a ...

Brzezinski recalled speaking with her husband Joe Scarborough at Albright’s National Democratic Institute’s annual dinner a few years ago and how they had to literally jog to keep up with Albright as she showed them around. Another time, Brzezinski recalled Albright running up to them in Georgetown during the 2016 presidential campaign and urgently warning them that fascism was making its way to the U.S. Brzezinski also recounted a time when her dad wanted to “express his gratitude to her mom for the perils and pains of being “a White House wife.” It was Albright who declared her mother needed a horse. Brzezinski started by telling a story when she was 10 years old and her father was asked to be national security adviser. But Albright found “Strawberry” and had her shipped to McLean in a trailer just in time for Mother’s Day. Strawberry quickly became family — and was even a fixture at the family’s dinner parties. Her brother, Ian Brzezinski, was set on going to Stanford University and got accepted. Brzezinski recounted at a private reception honoring Albright on Wednesday at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C., how she met Albright as a young girl. But she took a deep breath before taking the stage, wearing Ukraine’s colors – channeling Czech-born Albright, who Brzezinski said often wore a visual message on her attire. “Madeleine said that Stanford was perfectly fine for most students but that Ian would be going to Williams,” remembered Brzezinski. “So, Ian went to Williams – and after a few false starts, so did I,” said Brzezinski. Brzezinski said there were often no contractors in eastern Europe, so there would be no such thing at her family’s spider-filled, run-down farm. She had a heart bursting with kindness and love, and she would go to extremes to help her friends and family. But Albright wasn't just a world-changing statesperson.