World leaders, diplomats remember ‘trailblazer’ Madeleine Albright
Lapid says her rise from refugee to first female US secretary of state ‘inspired millions worldwide, and in particular, Jews here in Israel and around the world’
Tributes poured in Wednesday from diplomatic players around the world remembering Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state and one of the most influential stateswomen of her generation, who has died at age 84.
Albright, who came to the United States as an 11-year-old political refugee, rose to serve as the country’s top diplomat under president Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.
Clinton, as well as successors George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, hailed her historic service.
Albright “paved the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world, and was a champion for democratic values. And as an immigrant herself, she brought a unique and important perspective to her trailblazing career,” Obama said in a statement.
“Madeleine Albright was a force. Hers were the hands that turned the tide of history. … America had no more committed champion of democracy and human rights than Secretary Albright, who knew personally and wrote powerfully of the perils of autocracy,” said Biden. “When I think of Madeleine, I will always remember her fervent faith that ‘America is the indispensable nation.’”
Clinton, who appointed Albright said: “Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served.”
“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. … And through it all, even until our last conversation just two weeks ago, she never lost her great sense of humor or her determination to go out with her boots on, supporting Ukraine in its fight to preserve freedom and democracy.”
Born in Prague in 1937, Albright’s family — who were Jewish, although she did not know of her heritage until later in life — fled ahead of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, losing several family members to extermination camps. She moved first to England, then to America a decade later.
“Madeleine Albright’s rise from refugee to being the first woman to serve as Secretary of State inspired millions worldwide, and in particular, Jews here in Israel & around the world,” Tweeted Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. “The world today is a better place because of her leadership. May her memory be for a blessing.”
Madeleine Albright’s rise from refugee to being the first woman to serve as Secretary of State inspired millions worldwide, and in particular, Jews here in Israel & around the world. The world today is a better place because of her leadership.
May her memory be for a blessing.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid???? (@yairlapid) March 23, 2022
President Isaac Herzog hailed Albright as “a groundbreaking diplomat, feminist icon and outstanding leader, whom I always admired.”
“Our last correspondence was when she graciously congratulated me on my election. She was a true friend of Israel and we will miss her,” he said.
Saddened by the passing of Secretary @Madeleine Albright, a groundbreaking diplomat, feminist icon & outstanding leader, whom I always admired. Our last correspondence was when she graciously congratulated me on my election. She was a true friend of Israel and we will miss her.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) March 23, 2022
“A Czechoslovak born leader, a strong advocate for democracy & human rights. Today more than ever, Central Europe remembers her commitment to NATO enlargement. My heartfelt condolences to her family,” the Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Twitter.
In a statement, Albright’s family said she died of cancer, “surrounded by family and friends,” and paid tribute to “a loving mother, grandmother, sister and friend” as well as a “tireless champion of democracy and human rights.”
Trailblazer
After studying political science, Albright made her entry into politics as a fund raiser, then a congressional aide — and entered president Jimmy Carter’s administration working for Polish-American Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was Carter’s national security advisor.
Polish President Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter that he was saddened by the death of Albright, who “brought enormous contribution to the transatlantic community of security and of values, including to the accession of Poland and of other European countries to NATO.”
The United Nations, where Albright had served as US ambassador from 1993 to 1997, held a moment of silence for her.
“She left an indelible mark on the world and on the United Nations. Our country and our United Nations are stronger for her service,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Albright — whose global influence at the height of her career was compared to that of Margaret Thatcher in Britain — knew she was part of a new generation of women in public service.
“It used to be that the only way a woman could truly make her foreign policy views felt was by marrying a diplomat and then pouring tea on an offending ambassador’s lap,” Albright once said.
“Today, women are engaged in every facet of global affairs.”
“Madeleine was one of the most remarkable people I ever had the privilege to work with. She had the sharpest of brains, the most lively conscience and the deepest compassion for humanity. Her life mission was to make the world better and she followed it through her extraordinary career,” said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
At her former department, of which she became the head in 1997, spokesman Ned Price remembered Albright as “a trailblazer as the first female secretary of state and quite literally opened doors for a large elements of our workforce.”
“I know there are many people in this building who are grieving and who will be grieving today,” he added.
