Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state in the United States, has died at age 84.
Her family confirmed her passing in a statement Wednesday.
Among her many contributions to the nation, Albright pushed for the expansion of NATO and was a constant advocate for human rights reform and the implementation of democracy around the world. During Bill Clinton’s presidency, she served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and rose to become the country’s top diplomat. And just last month, she weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine—before he launched his full-scale attack—and said it would be “a historic error” on his part, and would bring devastating consequences to his country.
Albright was also one of the first women politicians to use fashion to communicate her diplomatic messages and stand up for important causes. In 2009 she wrote an intimate memoir titled Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, in which she spoke about her long career in politics, and how she made diplomatic history with the pieces in her jewelry collection.
A serpent pin she wore to a meeting with Iraqi officials in 1997 was her way of standing up to Saddam Hussein, whose poet-in-residence called her “an unparalleled serpent” upon her criticism of Hussein.
In 1996, she wore a silver-and-blue bird pin with diamonds and rubies to honor four Cuban-American pilots whose aircrafts were shot down by Cuban fighter pilots over international waters between Cuba and Florida. According to official transcripts, the pilots boasted about destroying the “cojones” of their victims, to which Albright replied, “This is not cojones, it is cowardice.” The bird in her pin has its head pointed down in mourning for the innocent lives lost.
Albright showed her commitment to the U.S. and to democracy at her swearing-in as secretary of state in 1997, to which she wore a brooch of an antique gold and diamond eagle holding a ruby and a pearl.
The politician, who will be remembered as a champion for women’s place in politics, had over 200 brooches in her collection—some understated, some extravagant, but all meaningful in their own ways.
Albright’s collection of brooches—including those she wore to different events from 1997 to 2001, when she led the Department of State—are on loan to the National Museum of American Diplomacy, which is scheduled to open in 2024. The exhibition also includes the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was awarded to her by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, and items from the set of the television show Madam Secretary, which was based on Albright’s life and career.
The original show was organized by the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and from 2009 to 2018, it was on display at 22 museums and presidential libraries across the country.
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Madeleine Albright Has Passed Away
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