Madeleine K. Albright, PhD

Madeleine K. Albright became the 64th secretary of state of the United States in 1997. She was the first female secretary of state and became, at that time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government.  Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor, and environmental standards abroad. From 1993 to 1997, Albright served as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations and as a member of the president’s cabinet. Her father, Josef Korbel, a diplomat, fled Communist Czechoslovakia with his family to the United States in 1948. In 1949, he accepted a position teaching international relations at the University of Denver. He later helped found and served as the first dean of the Graduate School of International Studies, which was renamed the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2008. A student of international relations from early on, Albright spent her teen years in Denver and graduated from Kent Denver School, where she founded the school’s international relations club and was its first president. She went on to receive a BA degree from Wellesley College and Master’s and PhD degrees from Columbia University’s Department of Public Law and Government, as well as a certificate from its Russian Institute. Albright was a professor in the practice of diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She chaired both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Albright also serves on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of trustees for the Aspen Institute. In 2009, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked Albright to chair a group of experts on NATO’s New Strategic Concept. Albright is the author of four New York Times best sellers, including her 2003 autobiography Madam Secretary: A Memoir.  Albright was a chair of Albright Stonebridge Group and chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. Madeleine passed away in March of 2022.

Books by Madeleine Albright:

Prague Winter – a Personal Story of Remembrance and War
Madam Secretary
Poland – the Role of the Press in Political Change
The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs
Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership
Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box
America’s Reputation and Leadership

Books containing reference to Madeleine Albright:

Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America
Madeline Albright: A Twentieth-Century Odyssey
Economics Sanctions and Iraq: The Non-Denial Heard ‘Round the World’