Biden eulogizes Madeleine Albright: ‘She changed the course of history.’

President Joe Biden praised Madeleine Albright on Wednesday, hailing the first female US Secretary of State as a “force of nature” and a champion of democracy. “She reversed the tide of history with her decency and grace, humanity and brilliance,” Biden said at the memorial ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral.
“She always had a gift for articulating to the American people why it mattered to them that people all around the globe were battling to breathe free,” the President added.
The President stated that he found out about Albright’s death while going to Europe for an emergency summit with NATO allies to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It was not lost on me that Madeleine was a large part of why NATO is still strong and energized today,” Biden added. Albright, according to the President, remained a “nexus of the foreign policy community” for decades after she left office. Albright, according to Biden, was “Always, and I mean always, stay up to date with the newest developments. Always advocating for democracy and the first to raise the alarm against fascism.”
“Presidents and leaders throughout the world, including myself,” Biden added, “continued to seek her guidance.”

The President lauded Albright’s diplomatic abilities, saying that one of the reasons he thought she was so good was because “she recognized something I’ve always believed: that all politics, especially foreign politics, is personal.” Biden hailed Albright as a mentor to “generations of rising foreign policy specialists” and a champion for young women in national security.

Albright, who died of cancer in March at the age of 84, will be remembered by her friends and family, as well as various current and former US government officials, American presidents, secretary of state, foreign leaders, and diplomats, and Democratic and Republican members of Congress. More than 1,400 individuals were anticipated to show up.

Albright was a key role in former President Bill Clinton’s administration, initially serving as his US ambassador to the United Nations before being appointed as the first female secretary of state in his second term. During her tenure, she advocated for NATO expansion, urged the alliance to act in the Balkans to prevent genocide and ethnic cleansing, worked to minimize the spread of nuclear weapons, and supported human rights and democracy across the world. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also paid their respects during Albright’s memorial ceremony. Anne Albright, Alice Albright, and Katharine Albright.

Albright’s children will also speak. The ceremony was given by Episcopal clergy. Tributes will be performed by musicians Chris Botti and Herbie Hancock. Among the readers and intercessors are Wendy Sherman, a US deputy secretary of state; Condoleezza Rice, a former secretary of state and a former student of Albright’s father; and Susan Rice, who directs the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama attended, as did former Vice President Al Gore and former Defense Secretaries Ash Carter, Chuck Hagel, and Bill Cohen. The pallbearers at Wednesday’s ceremony will be members of Albright’s diplomatic security service and protection detail during her time as an ambassador and secretary of state, as well as many honorary pallbearers.

Albright, the daughter of a Czechoslovakian ambassador, was born in Prague in 1937 and fled with her family 10 days after the Nazi takeover. Growing up in communist Yugoslavia and then migrating to the United States shaped her into a lifelong opponent of tyranny and fascism.

Albright served as chairperson of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington from 2001 until her death, and she lectured at Georgetown University. Albright was also a prolific novelist, with seven New York Times bestsellers to her credit.
Former teaching assistants who worked in Albright’s seminars at Georgetown are slated to act as ushers at Wednesday’s ceremony.