Madeleine Albright

Madeleine Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State, served in the position from January of 1997 to January of 2001, under the administration of President Bill Clinton. She was the first woman in U.S. history to hold the position, and at that time, the highest-ranking women ever in U.S. government.

Albright started her career as a Legislative Assistant for Senator (and future Secretary of State) Edmund Muskie before accepting an ambassadorship to the United Nations in 1993. Since leaving office, she has worked as a professor at Georgetown University as well as serving in leadership roles for numerous advocacy organizations, including The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Among the most significant moments of Albright's career at the State Department are the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to Chinese control, the conflict in Kosovo between Serbs and Bosnians and a landmark meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

• SourceWatch: Madeleine K. Albright profile

• BBC News: Madeleine Albright: Haunted by history (April 9, 1999)

• The Prague Post: Germans lost their art, too (May 17, 2000)

• • Albright stirred controversy when she told 60 Minutes "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price -- we think the price is worth it," defending sanctions responsible for the deaths of an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children.
• YouTube: Madeleine Albright on 60 Minutes: "Worth it" comments (Time: 0:22)
• FAIR.org: "We Think the Price Is Worth It" (November/December 2001)
• Wikipedia: Iraq sanctions
• CNN: Bomber's defense focuses on U.S. policy on Iraq (June 4, 2001)

• The Daily Show: Madeleine Albright Interview, Part 1 (Time: 4:50)

• YouTube: Madeleine Albright on Gilmore Girls (Time: 1:40)