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Madeleine Albright, first female U.S. secretary of state, passes away at 84

She was chosen by President Bill Clinton to be America's top diplomat in 1996

Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, has passed away of cancer. Her family announced the news Wednesday (March 23).

Albright was 84. She was chosen by President Bill Clinton to be America’s top diplomat in 1996, and she served as secretary of state for the second term of the Clinton administration. During her time in the administration, she was the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government.

“Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served,” Clinton said in a statement. “As a child in war-torn Europe, Madeleine and her family were twice forced to flee their home. When the end of the Cold War ushered in a new era of global interdependence, she became America’s voice at the UN, then took the helm at the State Department, where she was a passionate force for freedom, democracy, and human rights.”

Some thought Albright would run for president, but that wasn’t possible, since she was born in Czechoslovakia.

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