First Female US Secretary Of State, Madeleine Albright Is Dead

American diplomat and first female secretary of state in US history, Madeleine Albright has died.

Albright who would have turned 85 years of age in May 2022 reportedly died on Wednesday, March 23.

Naija News understands that the Czech immigrant made history as a long-time foreign policy veteran, and also as America’s top diplomat in 1997 during the Clinton government.

Announcing the demise of their mother, one of Albright’s children, Anne said, “She was surrounded by family and friends. We lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.”

Among those to pay tribute to her after the announcement of her death were former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who later followed in her footsteps as Secretary of State.

“Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served,” the Clintons said.

He added: “Because she knew first-hand 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.”

Nato’s current Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, said after the announcement that Albright was a force for freedom and an “outspoken champion of Nato”.

Naija News understands that Albright moved to the United States in 1948, the same year her family applied for political asylum, arguing that they were unable to return home as opponents of their country’s communist regime. She became a US citizen in 1957.

Albright went on to work at the White House during the Jimmy Carter administration and later as a foreign policy adviser to several vice-presidential and presidential candidates.

Soon after Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993, Albright was appointed ambassador to the United Nations – her first diplomatic posting.