Second Day of Women's History Month: Madeleine Albright

This photo was taken last Oct 10th, when former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at Purdue.  Karen and I were fortunate to be in the crowd that night.
She was born in Prague in 1937, shortly before Hitler invaded.  During World War II, her family escaped to England, and returned to Czechoslovakia for only a short time; the Soviet regime made it impossible for her family to stay, so they relocated to Colorado. [As a side note, it wasn't until 1997 that she realized her family was not Roman Catholic, but indeed were Jewish.]
She attended Wellesley College on a scholarship, then married and shortly thereafter gave birth to three daughters.  It wasn't until Madeleine Albright was in her 30's that she returned to school, ultimately earning a PhD in international affairs.
In 1993, President Clinton chose Albright to be his ambassador to the United Nations.  Four years later, he chose her to be the first female Secretary of State.  In these two positions, Albright was smart, tough, savvy, and...fun.  In this interview with Smithsonian Magazine, Albright explains why she started to wear pins. 

It all began when I was at the United Nations. It was right after the Gulf War and the United States was pressing for resolutions sanctioning Iraq. During that time I had something dreadful to say about Saddam Hussein on a daily basis, which he deserved because he had invaded Kuwait. The government-controlled Iraqi media then compared me to an “unparalleled serpent.” I happened to have a snake pin, and wore it to my next meeting on Iraq. When the press asked me about it, I thought, “Well, this is fun.”
Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/madeleine-albright-on-her-life-in-pins-149191/#cFs5MJYkyJJxUcHm.99

It all began when I was at the United Nations. It was right after the Gulf War and the United States was pressing for resolutions sanctioning Iraq. During that time I had something dreadful to say about Saddam Hussein on a daily basis, which he deserved because he had invaded Kuwait. The government-controlled Iraqi media then compared me to an “unparalleled serpent.” I happened to have a snake pin, and wore it to my next meeting on Iraq. When the press asked me about it, I thought, “Well, this is fun.”
Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/madeleine-albright-on-her-life-in-pins-149191/#cFs5MJYkyJJxUcHm.99

It all began when I was at the United Nations. It was right after the Gulf War and the United States was pressing for resolutions sanctioning Iraq. During that time I had something dreadful to say about Saddam Hussein on a daily basis, which he deserved because he had invaded Kuwait. The government-controlled Iraqi media then compared me to an “unparalleled serpent.” I happened to have a snake pin, and wore it to my next meeting on Iraq. When the press asked me about it, I thought, “Well, this is fun.”
Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/madeleine-albright-on-her-life-in-pins-149191/#cFs5MJYkyJJxUcHm.99

As she realized, the non-verbal communication is important too.
Albright is currently a professor of International Relations at Georgetown, and as she proved to us during her talk at Purdue, she's just as smart, witty, and out-spoken as ever.What impressed me most was her ability to speak on a wide range of topics during the Question and Answer session--she was able to speak clearly and precisely about events from 20 years ago, and things that had happened a few days before.  Amazing!

I'll close with my favorite Madeleine Albright quote:  "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

It all began when I was at the United Nations. It was right after the Gulf War and the United States was pressing for resolutions sanctioning Iraq. During that time I had something dreadful to say about Saddam Hussein on a daily basis, which he deserved because he had invaded Kuwait. The government-controlled Iraqi media then compared me to an “unparalleled serpent.” I happened to have a snake pin, and wore it to my next meeting on Iraq. When the press asked me about it, I thought, “Well, this is fun.”
Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/madeleine-albright-on-her-life-in-pins-149191/#cFs5MJYkyJJxUcHm.99