Madeleine Albright Biography

Madeleine Korbel was born on May 15, 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her father, Josef Korbel, was a member of the Czech diplomatic service who worked in Belgrade, London, and Prague before he fled with his family after a Communist coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948. The family were granted political asylum in the United States, and Josef began working at the University of Denver, where he later founded a graduate school of international relations.

She became a naturalized U.S. citizen and learned to speak English without an accent by the time she graduated high school. She is also fluent in Czech, French, Polish, and Russian. She married her husband, Joseph Albright, in 1959 (they divorced in 1982).

Madeleine K. Albright was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. Serving from 1997 until 2001, she was the first woman to hold that position, which she assumed after four years as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. During her tenure, Dr. Albright was known for her strong commitment to democracy, arms control, human rights and peace in the Middle East, Africa and other regions of conflict. She played a lead role in forging America's successful response to terror and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and was a forceful advocate of bringing war criminals to justice.

Since leaving office, Dr. Albright has authored four New York Times bestsellers. Her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir, as well as The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership, and Read My Pins.

Currently, Albright serves as a Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair and Principal of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory company focused on emerging markets. She is the first Michael and Virginia Mortara Endowed Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She chairs both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the Pew Global Attitudes Project and is president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. Dr. Albright co-chairs the UNDP's Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute and the Board of Directors of the Center for a New American Security. Collapse.

About This Biography
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