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Former US top diplomat Madeleine Albright dead at 84

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (center) poses with ABS-CBN executives and guests during the " an="" anc="" and="" economy:="" forum="" global="" governance="" leadership="" on="" series="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/07/19/20170719-albright-anc-gc-6.jpg?ext=.jpg" the="" world=""/><figcaption>Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (center) poses with ABS-CBN executives and guests during the &quot;Forum on Global Governance and the World Economy: An ANC Leadership Series&quot; at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state and one of the most influential stateswomen of her generation, died Wednesday of cancer at age 84, her family announced.</p><p>Albright, who came to the United States as an 11-year-old political refugee, rose to serve as the country&#x27;s top diplomat under president Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.</p><p>In a statement, Albright&#x27;s family said she died &quot;surrounded by family and friends,&quot; and paid tribute to &quot;a loving mother, grandmother, sister and friend&quot; as well as a &quot;tireless champion of democracy and human rights.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/19/17/albright-broke-glass-ceiling-for-women-in-diplomacy-envoy">Albright broke &#x27;glass ceiling&#x27; for women in diplomacy: envoy</a></li></ul><p>Born in Prague in 1937, Albright&#x27;s family, who were Jewish although she did not know of her heritage until later in life, fled ahead of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939 -- moving first to England, then to America a decade later.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/19/17/albright-urges-caution-over-russias-putin">Albright says &#x27;dangerous&#x27; to admire Russia&#x27;s Putin</a></li></ul><p>She lost several family members to the Nazi extermination camps.</p><p>After studying political science, Albright made her entry into politics as a fund raiser, then a congressional aide -- and entered president Jimmy Carter&#x27;s administration working for Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was Carter&#x27;s national security advisor.</p><p>When Clinton took office in 1993, he tapped Albright as ambassador to the United Nations, and in 1996 she was named his secretary of state. </p><p>Albright -- whose global influence at the height of her career was compared to that of Margaret Thatcher in Britain -- knew she was part of a new generation of women in public service.</p><p>&quot;It used to be that the only way a woman could truly make her foreign policy views felt was by marrying a diplomat and then pouring tea on an offending ambassador&#x27;s lap,&quot; Albright once said.</p><p>&quot;Today, women are engaged in every facet of global affairs.&quot; </p><p>At her former department, spokesman Ned Price remembered Albright as &quot;a trailblazer as the first female secretary of state and quite literally opened doors for a large elements of our workforce.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/23/17/what-statement-pin-would-albright-wear-for-duterte">What &#x27;statement pin&#x27; would Albright wear for Duterte?</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I know there are many people in this building who are grieving and who will be grieving today,&quot; he added.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1974217" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Albright, one of the most influential stateswomen of her generation, has died of cancer at age 84, her family announced Wednesday.