Hayley

Madeleine Albright

== //My name is Madeleine Albright. I was born May 15th, 1937. My birth name is Marie Jana Korbelova. Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, I was the oldest of my sister and brother. My mother was Jewish which made me part of the religion. At the time I was little, Prague was under the rule of Hitler. So that forced my family and me to live in exile (anyone seperated from his or her country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances) and move to London, England. When World War II was over we moved back to Prague. My father was named Czech ambassador to Yugoslavia. I did not find out till later on that my family was Jewish and that many of my relatives died in the Holocaust. Because of my fathers job we moved to Belgrade, Serbia. Instead of attending school I was home schooled by our governess. Later I was sent to the Prealpina Institute in Switzerland. There I learned French and went by the name Madeleine. My father was forced to resign from his ambassador position in 1948, but then he obtained a different position with the United Nations to represent Kashmir. Later my family and I moved to the United States in Long Island, New York. Six years later I graduated from Kent Denver High School, and then in 1959, I graduated from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Also in 1959, I married Joseph Madill Patterson Albright. We Were married for 25 years. During those years we had twin girls, Anne and Alison, and another daugher, Katie. when the 25 years were over, Joseph divorced me for another woman.// == == //As for my career, I was the the U.S. Secretary of State. To get there, I studied International Relations and Russian. I continued studying after my third child. I earned my certificate in Russian in 1968. I also studied to get a PHD which I received in 1975 from Columbia University. As a member of the Democratic party, also a diplomat, (a person who is employed or skilled in managing relations between nations) I helped Democratic candidates fundraise and advised them on foreign affairs. I became a professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. during 1982. There I was a Research professor of Internatonal Affairs. I returned to Georgetown when I was done in office. Another thing I did that was amazing is that, in 1993, I became the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. While I was ambassador I encountered the// //Bosnian war and the Kosovo war. I also had to deal with the killings in Rwanda. During my ambassador years I was criticized for my support of the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, which was under the power of Saddam Hussein. And to top off my little list, I was the first woman to become the U.S. Secretary of State.// == == //My job I thought was just absolutely amazing. When former President Bill Clinton appointed me as Secretary of State on December 5, 1996, I could not believe it. After all that I went though my dream was finally coming true. And that dream was completely fulfilled on January 23, 1997 when I was sworn into office to become the U.S. Secretary of State. While I was Secretary I was the highest ranking woman at that time. I was proud to be in the Presidents Cabinet and to be at the top of the U.S. Department of State. But another thing to my job was many people relying on me, so that meant that I couldn’t disappoint them. To help you understand more about my job I will tell you what some of my responsibilities were. My duties were to advise the President on foreign affairs and other important things. Also I was in charge of negotiations related to U.S foreign affairs. Those duties may not sound like much, but you have no idea how important these things are to our country. One thing I liked to say was, "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." One of my adventures during my term was when the U.S. abassador to Kenya, Prudence Bushnell, kept asking Washington D.C. if they could get more security at the embassy in Nairobi. During April, 1998 he sent a letter directly to me but I did not pay attention to it. In August the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed. Another story is when I traveled to Hong Kong, China. I was sent there because I had to represent the U.S. at the Transfer of Sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. I also boycotted the swearing in ceremony against the China appointed Hong Kong Legislative Council. And for my final story, I became one of the highest level western diplomats in history to meet Kim Jong-il in the year 2000. Kim Jong-il was a communist leader of North Korea. I am sorry to say but this is the end of my little life story. I hoped you liked it.// ==

//By Hayley Hartman// Point of view: Madeleine Albright