Madeleine Albright

Early Childhood  I was born in Smíchov, a town in Prague, Czechoslovakia on May 15, 1937  I was the oldest out of my siblings, I had one brother and one sister, John and Katherine.  My father, Josef Korbel, was a Jewish Czech diplomat, and was married to my mother Anna Korbel.

Making Changes My father was announced Czechoslovak Ambassador, he moved the family to Belgrade and sent me to Prealpina Institut pour Jeunes Filles, in Switzerland. Here, I learned French and my name became Madeleine, which is French for my nickname Madlenka.

Making Adjustments After the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took over the government in 1948, my father was forced to resign. He received a position on the United Nations delegation in Kashmir..

Leaving Home  After he knew about the delegation, he sent my family and I over seas to the United states.  We arrived in New York City, New York in November of  We settled on Long Island, New York.

Exploring The New World  Once again we moved, I spent the majority of my teen years in Denver, Colorado. I graduated from Kent Denver School in  I then became an American citizen in 1957.

College Life I attended Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. I went to college on a full scholarship, and majored in political science. I also joined the College Democrats of America. I graduated from college in 1959.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage…….  While home in Denver I worked for the Denver Post. That is where I met my husband Joseph Medill Patterson Albright. We got married in Wellesley, shortly after my college graduation in 1959.

Then comes Babies!  In 1961, Joseph began working at Newsday in New York City. So we moved to Garden City on Long Island, New York.  This is where I had my twins, Anne and Alice. They were 6 weeks premature.

On The Move  In 1962 we moved to Georgetown in Washington D.C.  I began to study international relations, and continue to study Russian.  After a death in the family, we returned to Long Island. To help with Joseph’s family business.

Third one’s always the charm. When we moved back to Long Island, I continued my studies at the Columbia University’s Department of Public Law and Government. We also gave birth to another daughter, Katherine, in 1967.

Heart Broken  Eventually I moved back to Washington D.C, and commuted to Columbia for my PhD.  I received my PhD in  After returning home from a political assignment in Poland, Joseph declared he wanted a divorce.

Beginning My Own Career In Politics.  In 1972 I was invited to organize a fundraising dinner for the presidential campaign of U.S Senator, Ed Muskie. This led him to giving me the position of his chief legislative assistant in 1976.

Being a part of the United Nations My first diplomatic position was when I was appointed Ambassador of the United Nations. I presented my credentials on Feb. 9 th 1993.

High Honor  After many different political positions, I took office as the 64 th U.S Secretary of State, on Jan. 3 rd, I became the highest ranking woman in the U.S government.  Appointed by President Bill Clinton, I was honored to be the first female to ever receive this position.