Madeleine Albright, who fled Communist rule in eastern Europe as a child and rose through the ranks of American diplomacy to become the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, died on Wednesday in Washington at the age of 84.
Albright’s family confirmed her death in a statement, saying the longtime diplomat had died of cancer. At the time of her death, Albright, who served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 in the administration of Bill Clinton, was a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
US president Joe Biden issued a statement calling Albright a “force” whose “hands?.?.?.?turned the tide of history.”