23/03/2022
: Madeleine Albright, the United States first woman to hold the office of Secretary of State has died of cancer at the age of 84.
Albright served as the nations top diplomat in 1996 under President Bill Clinton and served in that capacity for the last four years of his term. Previously, she served as Clinton’s U.N. Ambassador and at the time was the highest ranking woman in the history of the United States government.
She would also be the first Secretary of State to swear in America’s first openly gay diplomat, James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg. She would also be the first to allow domestic partners, including same-sex partners to accompany overseas staff and require that foreign governments officially accredit them.
Madeleine Albright famously said during a commencement speech at UC San Diego, “When pride in ‘us’ hurdles into hatred of ‘them’, the American tapestry unravels and the social fabric is torn.”
In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Albright the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, saying her life was an inspiration to all Americans.
