Madeleine Albright earned a BA with honors in Political Science from Wellesley College in 1959, a Masters from Columbia University’s Department of Public Law and Government in 1968, and a Doctorate also from Columbia’s Department of Public Law and Government, in 1976. From 1976 to 1978 she was Chief Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie. From 1978 to 1981, she was a staff member of the National Security Council and the White House, in President Jimmy Carter’s administration. In 1981, Albright was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution. That year she also co-founded the Center for National Policy, and then served as its President. In addition, from 1981 to 1982 she was a Senior Fellow in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 1982 to 1993 she was a Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Women in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she taught graduate and undergraduate courses. In 1984 Albright also served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, and in 1988 she was a Foreign Policy Advisor to Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. From 1993 to 1997, during President Bill Clinton’s first term, she was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a member of Clinton’s cabinet, and of the National Security Council. During President Clinton’s second term, from 1997 to 2001, Albright served as the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and as a member of the National Security Council. She was the first woman to serve as Secretary of State. 

 

In 2003, Albright sat on the Board of the Directors of the New York Stock Exchange. Currently, Albright is the first Michael and Virginia Mortara Endowed Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service; Chair of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; Chair of the Pew Global Attitudes Project; Co-Chair of the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor; on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations; on the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute; and founder and principal of the Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm., and principal of Albright Capital Management LLC.

 

Among the books she has written: Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership; Madam Secretary: A Memoir; and The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs.