“My parents were of the generation who thought they were the children of a free Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in central Europe. This was their pride [and] that is what I grew up with.”
- #wikipedia
- #quote
- #trusted-source
- #www.washingtonpost.com

Figure timeline
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman to hold the position.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
politics · American diplomat and political scientist (1937–2022) · diplomat · politician · writer · political scientist · ambassador · university teacher · opinion journalist · minister · foreign minister · autobiographer · also Madeleine Albright, Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright, Madeleine Korbel Albright, Madeleine K. Albright, Marie Jana Körbelová, Madeleine Jana Korbel
Born 15 May 1937 · Died 23 March 2022 · Q174438
135 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
9 photos
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
“My parents were of the generation who thought they were the children of a free Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in central Europe. This was their pride [and] that is what I grew up with.”
“during the course of the war.”
“I was told by my parents . . . that she had not wanted to come with us to the United States because she had already been displaced a number of times in her life and she was about to go to the university,”
“s oldest friends, Josef Marek, the conversion probably took place while the Korbels were in London, although he is not certain about the exact timing. Marek, now 89, does firmly recall that Albright”
“I absolutely believe what I said, that women should help one another, but this was the wrong context and the wrong time to use that line. I did not mean to argue that women should support a particular candidate based solely on gender.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My deepest regret from my years in public service is the failure of the United States and the international community to act sooner to halt these crimes.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
New York Daily News: Madeleine Albright’s funeral at the National Cathedral brings together presidents, world leaders
Yahoo: An appreciation: The headline Madeleine Albright never forgot, and the life she lived
New York Daily News: Madeleine Albright’s funeral service in Washington, DC
CBS News: As Madeleine Albright is laid to rest, a former student recalls her kindness in time of crisis
AOL: Madeleine Albright, in her words: How she became secretary of state and the importance of calling out wrongs
Newsweek: Madeleine Albright: Memoriam and Reminiscence | Opinion
People: Hillary Clinton Remembers 'Irrepressible' Madeleine Albright's 'Vital Voice' in Op-Ed After Diplomat's Death
National Catholic Reporter: Madeleine Albright is remembered as diplomat and teacher
NPR: Judge Jackson, Madeleine Albright and the legacy of being 'first'
The Forward: Madeleine Albright, the first woman secretary of state who discovered her Jewish roots late, dies at 84
Yahoo: Balkans split over Madeleine Albright's wartime legacy
NPR: Madeleine Albright left a rich legacy for other women in public service to follow
KPBS: Madeleine Albright kept up her trailblazing work long after being secretary of state
Smithsonian Magazine: Madeleine Albright on Her Life in Pins
Died 2022-03-23.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“La diferencia entre los humanos y otros mamíferos es que sabemos cómo personalizar». [The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize].”
“Democracy is a form of government; it is not a ticket to some fantasy land where all evil is vanquished and everyone agrees with us.”
“Articolo sul New York Times sul conflitto russo-ucraino pubblicato il 23 febbraio 2022, riportato in Infobae.com, 24 marzo 2022”
“La democrazia è una forma di governo; non è un biglietto per qualche terra fantastica dove tutto il male è sterminato e tutti sono d'accordo con noi.”
“The Eisenhower administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons. [...] But the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs.”
“Lesley Stahl: We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it? Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price—we think the price is worth it.”
“[Sull'Operazione Ajax] L'amministrazione Eisenhower credeva che le proprie azioni fossero giustificate da ragione strategiche, [...] ma il colpo di stato è stato un chiaro ostacolo allo sviluppo politico dell'Iran. Ed è facile capire perché oggi molti iraniani continuano ad essere infastiditi da quest'intervento da parte dell'America nei loro affari interni.”
“Opinion Guest Essay: "Putin Is Making a Historic Mistake", The New York Times (23 February 2022)”
“I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.”
“Our nation's memory is long and our reach is far.”
“Io sono per la democrazia, ma imporre la democrazia è un ossimoro. La gente deve scegliere liberamente la democrazia, e questa deve salire dal basso.”
“[...] there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other.”
“Los buenos no siempre ganan, especialmente cuando están divididos y menos decididos que sus adversarios». [Good guys don't always win, especially when they are divided and less determined than their adversaries].”
“It is the threat of the use of force [against Iraq] and our line-up there that is going to put force behind the diplomacy. But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.”
“[...] nell'inferno c'è un posto speciale per le donne che non si aiutano fra di loro.”
“Bill Clinton lied, but nobody died.”
“(en) I believe that societies are better off when women are politically and economically empowered”
“Hay mucho espacio en el mundo para hombres mediocres pero no hay para mujeres mediocres». [There's plenty of room in the world for mediocre men, but there is no room for mediocre women].”
“Bill Clinton ha mentito, ma nessuno è morto.”
“El infierno tiene reservado un lugar especial para las mujeres que no ayudan a otras mujeres». [There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women].”
“I'm not a person who thinks the world would be entirely different if it was run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten what high school was like.”
“The victor of the war in Iraq is Iran.”
“Armageddon is not a foreign policy.”
“When we're trying to solve difficult national issues its sometimes necessary to talk to adversaries as well as friends. Historians have a word for this: diplomacy.”
Albright was named by Time among the world's 100 powerful women who defined the last century
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Won Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Diplomacy (2019).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Won Silver Medal of the President of the Senate (2019).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Time created 89 new covers to celebrate women of the year starting from 1920; it chose Albright for 1999
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2018).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Claimed: “Says Benito Mussolini "initiated a campaign to 'drenare la palude' ('drain the swamp') by firing more than 35,000 civil servants."” — rated Half True by PolitiFact.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Published “Pan-tumor genomic biomarkers for PD-1 checkpoint blockade–based immunotherapy” in Science — cited 2,042 times.
Published “Function and functional redundancy in microbial systems” in Nature Ecology & Evolution — cited 2,019 times.
Published “Pan-tumor genomic biomarkers for PD-1 checkpoint blockade–based immunotherapy” in Science — cited 2,020 times.
Published “Function and functional redundancy in microbial systems” in Nature Ecology & Evolution — cited 1,974 times.
Published “IFN-γ–related mRNA profile predicts clinical response to PD-1 blockade” in Journal of Clinical Investigation — cited 3,444 times.
Published “IFN-γ–related mRNA profile predicts clinical response to PD-1 blockade” in Journal of Clinical Investigation — cited 3,403 times.
VOA rated the claim “That Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, said that it is not fair that Russia possesses such vast natural resources. Variants of the quotes attributed to her include: “How is it fair if a territory like Siberia belongs to only one country?” and “It is terribly unfair for Russia to…” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Albright was listed as one of the 50 best-dressed over 50s by The Guardian in March 2013.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Won Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by Barack Obama (2012).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Her investment firm, Albright Capital Management, was preparing to bid in the proposed privatization of Kosovo's state-owned telecom and postal company, Post and Telecom of Kosovo
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Intervista di Marta Dassù, La Stampa, 18 aprile 2011”
Awarded Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (2010).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded Theodore Roosevelt Award (2009).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Albright also published the book Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box about her pins
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
President-elect Barack Obama nominated then-Senator Clinton for Albright's former post of Secretary of State
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded honorary doctorate presented by Knox College (2008).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“On illegal migrants to the United States from Mexico and Central America, in Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership (2008), p. 225”
Albright declared that she and William Cohen would co-chair a new Genocide Prevention Task Force created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States Institute
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded honorary doctor of the University of Miami (2006).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded Great Immigrants Award (2006).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Said she was capable of leg pressing 400 pounds (180 kg)
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Keynote speech at "Celebrating Inspiration" luncheon with the WNBA's All-Decade Team, quoted in Mechelle Voepel, ESPN (July 13, 2006)”
Was named by Carnegie Corporation to the inaugural class of winners of the Great Immigrants Award
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“La Stampa, 18 febbraio 2005”
“Comment on Stahl interview, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme (October 19, 2005)”
Albright submitted her resignation
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Declined to run for re-election to the board in the aftermath of the Richard Grasso compensation scandal, in which Grasso, the chairman of the NYSE board of directors, had been granted $187
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
To engage in private fund management related to emerging markets
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“(BBC HARDTALK 17-MAY-2004) uncut version.”
“To Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the 1990s, on Bosnia, recounted in Madam Secretary (2003), p. 182”
“Comment on the Rwandan Genocide in Madam Secretary (2003), p. 147.”
“On her upbringing, Madam Secretary (2003), p. 512”
“Comment on Stahl interview in Madam Secretary (2003), pp. 274-275”
“Intervista di Paolo Mastrolilli, La Stampa, 7 dicembre 2002”
Awarded Elizabeth Blackwell Award (2001).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded honorary doctorate from Brown University (2001).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In one of her last acts as Secretary of State, Albright made a farewell call to Kofi Annan and said that the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“La Stampa, 10 gennaio 2001”
Awarded Library of Congress Living Legend (2000).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Won Great Gold Medal of Masaryk University (2000).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded Freedom Award (1999).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded National Women's Hall of Fame (1998).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
At the NATO summit, Albright articulated what became known as the "three Ds" of NATO, "which is no diminution of NATO, no discrimination and no duplication—because I think that we don't need any of those three "Ds" to ha
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“La Stampa, 7 dicembre 1998”
“If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future....”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He is producing weapons of mass destruction, and he is qualitatively and quantitatively different from other dictators.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Albright was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Public statement in response to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. In: Schweid, Barry (August 10, 1998) "Albright Offers $2M Bombings Reward.”
“Stated[dead link] on NBC's Today Show (February 19, 1998)”
Awarded Grand cross of the Order of the White Lion (1997).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
When The Washington Post reported on Albright's Jewish ancestry shortly after she had become Secretary of State in 1997, Albright said that the report was a "major surprise".
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Albright said that the report was a "major surprise"
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Albright said her parents never told her or her two siblings about their Jewish ancestry and heritage
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career landmark: United States Secretary of State (1997–2001).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awarded Margaret Brent Award (1996).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Then-ambassador Albright defended the sanctions on a 60 Minutes segment in which Lesley Stahl asked her, "We have heard that half a million children have died
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Was greeted with chants of "libertad"
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“it was a very, very difficult time, and the situation was unclear. You know, in retrospect, it all looks very clear. But when you were [there] at the time, it was unclear about what was happening in Rwanda.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Stated on CBS's 60 Minutes (May 12, 1996). Albright was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at the time.”
Albright entered into a secret pact with Richard Clarke, Michael Sheehan, and James Rubin to overthrow U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
After Cuban military pilots shot down two small civilian aircraft flown by the Cuban-American exile group Brothers to the Rescue over international waters, she announced at a UN Security Council meeting debating a resolu
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In Albright's role as the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Boutros-Ghali became a political scapegoat in the United States
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career landmark: United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1993–1997).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bill Clinton returned the White House to the Democratic Party, and Albright was employed to handle the transition to a new administration at the National Security Council
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988 (both campaigns ended in defeat)
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And advised Democratic candidates regarding foreign policy
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Specializing in Eastern European studies
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
To Ronald Reagan, Albright moved on to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
To work in the West Wing as the National Security Council's congressional liaison
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And commuted to Columbia for her doctor of philosophy, which she earned in 1975
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And the Albrights returned to Long Island with the notion of Joseph taking over the family newspaper business
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And earned a PhD from Columbia University in 1975, writing her thesis on the Prague Spring
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Albright married Joseph Albright in 1959.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
She had been raised Catholic, but converted to the Episcopal Church upon her marriage in 1959.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And joined the College Democrats of America
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Graduated from the Kent Denver School in Cherry Hills Village, a suburb of Denver
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And arriving at Ellis Island in New York Harbor on November 11, 1948
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
During her early childhood, after fleeing Czechoslovakia for England in 1939, to avoid anti-Jewish persecution before they immigrated to the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Her parents had converted from Judaism to Catholicism in 1941, during her early childhood, after fleeing Czechoslovakia for England in 1939, to avoid anti-Jewish persecution before they immigrated to the U.S.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born 1937-05-15.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In the Smíchov district of Prague, Czechoslovakia
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“s claim was unfounded. Speech against Serbs and war profiteering In late October 2012, during a book signing in the Prague bookstore Palác Knih Luxor, Albright was visited by a group of activists from the Czech organization Přátelé Srbů na Kosovu (Friends of Serbs in Kosovo). She was filmed saying,”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Connections