Madeleine Albrecht, the first woman to serve as Secretary of State of the United States, died on March 23, 2022, according to a statement from her family.
Madeleine Albrecht was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States, serving under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.
She was the country’s first female secretary of state.
Albrecht joined the Georgetown University faculty after leaving the National Security Council and counseled Democratic candidates on foreign policy.
What Happened To Madeline Albrecht? Death Age 85
Madeleine Albrecht, who arrived in the United States as a refugee and went on to become the first female Secretary of State, has died at the age of 85.
Her death was caused by cancer as per her family’s statement. Her family posted on Twitter, “She was surrounded by family and friends.” “A loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend has passed away.”
Albrecht was praised by Joe Biden as a “force for goodness, grace, and decency – and for freedom.”
In honor of Madeline, Biden has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all US official buildings and grounds.
She was appointed as America’s top diplomat by President Bill Clinton in 1996, and she served in that position for the final four years of the Clinton administration.
Madeline was the highest-ranking female official in the US government at the time. Because she was a Czechoslovakian, she was not in line for the president.
Madeline Albrecht Husband & Family
Madeleine Albrecht was married to Joseph Medill Patterson. After Madeleine graduated from Wellesley College in 1959, they married.
They have three daughters: Anne and Alice (born 1961), twin girls, and Katie, the youngest.
Albrecht married Marcia Kunstel after the marriage split in 1982. They own Flat Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, together.
She moved to the United States with her family from Czechoslovakia in 1948.
In 1957, her father, ambassador Josef Korbel, relocated the family to Denver, Colorado, and she became a citizen of the United States.
Madeline Albrecht Wikipedia Explored
Madeline Albrecht is listed on the Wikipedia official page. She was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States and the first female Secretary of State in the country’s history.
Albrecht got a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in 1959 and a doctorate from Columbia University in 1975, with a thesis on the Prague Spring as her topic.
She served as an adviser to Senator Edmund Muskie before joining the National Security Council to work under Zbigniew Brzezinski.
She held that role until President Jimmy Carter stepped down in 1981.
Madeline assisted Clinton in putting together his National Security Council after Clinton’s victory in the 1992 presidential election.
Clinton appointed her as the United States’ UN Ambassador in 1993. She served in that capacity until 1997 when she was appointed Secretary of State.
President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2012. Albrecht was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ board of directors.