The first female United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has died at the age of 84.
Albright, who helped steer Western foreign policy in the aftermath of the Cold War, died on Wednesday after years of battling cancer, her family said in a statement.
She was a central figure in President Bill Clinton’s administration, first serving as US Ambassador to the United Nations before becoming the nation’s top diplomat in Clinton’s second term.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden described the former secretary of state a “force” and said working with her during the 1990s was among the highlights of his career as a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
He said: “When I think of Madeleine, I will always remember her fervent faith that America is the indispensable nation.”
In his tribute, Clinton said: “Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served. 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.”
