Madeleine Albright

Madeleine K. Albright, 64th Secretary of State of the United States, best-selling author and professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, will present “A Conversation with Madeleine Albright” at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, in Denison University’s Swasey Chapel (200 Chapel Drive). Albright’s presentation is courtesy of Denison’s Richard G. Lugar Symposium on Public Policy and is free and open to the public.

Albright’s career in public service began in 1976 when she served as chief legislative assistant to Sen. Edmund Muskie. Today, Albright is chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. She chairs both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the Pew Global Attitudes Project and serves as president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. Albright serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), for whom the symposium is named, graduated with the Denison University class of 1954.

A brief biography of Secretary of State Albright

In 1997, Albright was named the first female secretary of state and became, at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.

From 1993 to 1997, Albright served as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations and as a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet and National Security Council.

Albright formerly was the president of the Center for National Policy. The Center is a nonprofit research organization formed in 1981 by representatives from government, industry, labor and education. Its mandate is to promote the study and discussion of domestic and international issues.

As a research professor of international affairs and director of the Women in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, Russian foreign policy, and Central and Eastern European politics, and was responsible for developing and implementing programs designed to enhance women’s professional opportunities in international affairs.

From 1981 to 1982, Albright was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian, following an international competition in which she wrote about the role of the press in political changes in Poland during the early 1980s.

She also served as a senior fellow in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, conducting research in developments and trends in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

From 1978-1981, Albright was a staff member on the National Security Council, as well as a White House staff member, where she was responsible for foreign policy legislation. From 1976-1978, she served as chief legislative assistant to Sen. Edmund S. Muskie.

In 2009, Albright was asked by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to chair a group of experts focused on developing NATO’s New Strategic Concept.

Albright is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: her autobiography, “Madam Secretary: A Memoir,” “The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs,” “Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership,” and “Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box.” Her next book, “While I Was Growing Up,” is slated for release in 2012. It tells the story of Albright’s experiences and those of her family during and immediately after World War II.