Madeleine K. Albright, 84, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, died March 23 of cancer, her family said.
Her family was heartbroken to announce that Albright, the 64th Secretary of State, had died of cancer, they said in a statement released that day on Twitter.
“She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend,” the family’s statement said.
Albright was a recipient of the nation’s highest civilian honor in 2012, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the statement reported.
She came to the U.S. in 1948 from Prague as a refugee. Serving 1997-2001 under President Bill Clinton, she was the highest ranking female in the U.S government at the time of her appointment, according to a Yahoo News article in her honor.
In addition to working her way up in the government, Albright was a fierce advocate for democracy and human rights. She was active as a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service at the time of her death, as well as being an active chair member in a number of civil service foundations, the statement said.
The founder of the Albright Institute for Global Affairs at Wellesley College, she served as a lifetime Trustee of the Aspen Institute and a member of the chapter of the Washington National Cathedral, the family reported.
