Madeleine Albright at the Presidential Library in 2014|FDR Presidential Library & Museum|CC BY 2.0
The first female Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, died of cancer at 84 her family announced yesterday. A Czechoslovakian refugee, Madeleine was appointed as the country’s top diplomat in 1996 by President Bill Clinton. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the top civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Madeline was universally admired, even by her political detractors, for breaking a glass ceiling.
“We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend,” her family said in a statement.
