Rest In Peace
Madeleine Albright, who as secretary of state during the Clinton administration became the first woman to serve as the nation’s top diplomat, has died of cancer at the age of 84.
Ms. Albright presided over U.S. diplomacy in the aftermath of the Cold War, renegotiating the nation’s relationship with Russia and advocating the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by including former Soviet states.
Her own experiences with authoritarian governments during her formative years shaped Ms. Albright’s approach to the world and meant she paid particular attention to issues in Eastern Europe. Her native Czechoslovakia fell under the sway of first Adolf Hitler, then Joseph Stalin, leading her family to flee the country.
A facility with languages—she spoke fluent Czech and French, and conversational Polish and Russian—enhanced her ability to build rapport with foreign counterparts…