“The interesting part is, that being the United States Secretary of State, most places I went didn't have a problem with me being a woman, because I was representing the United States.” StatesProblemInterestingUnitedUnited StatesSecretaryRepresentingBeing A Woman Author:Madeleine Albright
“People didn't think that a woman could be the Secretary of State, when my name was out there...but then the Arab Ambassadors at the UN said 'We have no problem dealing with Ambassador Albright, and we would have no problem dealing with Secretary Albright.'” PeopleThinkingSaidStatesProblemNamesSecretaryNo ProblemAmbassadors Author:Madeleine Albright
“I had more problems with the men in our own government, and not because they were male chauvinistic pigs but because they had known me for so long. I might have been a carpool mother and a friend of their wife, and so they'd been to my house for dinner and things like and they thought 'how did she get to be secretary of state when I should be secretary of state?' So that was more of a problem.” MenShouldLongHas BeensStatesProblemGovernmentMightMotherHouseKnownWifeHe ManMalesDinnerPigsSecretaryMight Have Been Author:Madeleine Albright
“The stunning part was that one time Neil McElroy the Secretary of Defense who was the father of one of our classmates spoke and basically at commencement, he told us all that our job after graduation was to get married and have interesting sons...and we all found that hard to believe.” BelieveHardJobsFoundFatherInterestingSonMarriedDefenseSpokesOne TimeSecretaryStunningHard To BelieveCommencementClassmates Author:Madeleine Albright
“I consider it my patriotic duty as an ordinary citizen - not as Secretary of State - to ask questions. I think we have to ask ourselves the tough questions.” ThinkingStatesAsksDutyCitizensOrdinaryToughPatrioticSecretaryOrdinary CitizensTough Questions Author:Madeleine Albright
“One of the things I write about a bit in my Madam Secretary memoir is on Rwanda, where I was an instructed ambassador at the U.N., and my instructions were to not vote for increased forces there, and I didn't like my instructions. So I got up and called Washington and said, "Change my instructions," and they didn't.” WritingSaidForceBitsVoteMemoirInstructionSecretaryAmbassadorsRwanda Author:Madeleine Albright
“John Kerry knows more about more subjects than an awful lot of people. But I think it's a very hard job [Secretary of State].” PeopleThinkingKnowsHardStatesJobsSubjectsAwfulSecretaryJohn Kerry Author:Madeleine Albright
“[John Kerry] actually stole my line because when I became Secretary of State, I said, 'I hope my heels will fill Warren Christopher's shoes.' So he reversed that.” SaidStatesLinesShoesHeelsSecretaryJohn Kerry Author:Madeleine Albright
“I think the hardest part [is] the priorities. There are an awful lot of things to do [being Secretary of State].” ThinkingStatesPrioritiesHardestAwfulThings To DoSecretary Author:Madeleine Albright
“I have to tell you, my seven-year-old granddaughter said to my daughter, her mother, 'So what's the big deal about Grandma Maddy having been Secretary of State? Only girls are Secretaries of State.' Most of her lifetime, it's true. But at the time it really was a big deal.” YearsSaidStatesBigsMotherGirlDealsDaughterLifetimeSevenMy DaughterSecretarySeven YearsBig DealGrandmaGranddaughterGrand Daughter Author:Madeleine Albright
“For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.” WorldHappensJobsPolicyForeign PolicySecretaryBest Job Author:Madeleine Albright
“I loved being Secretary of State, that's probably evident to everyone who watched me.” StatesSecretaryEvident Author:Madeleine Albright
“I loved what I did. I could've been secretary of state for ever.” StatesSecretary Author:Madeleine Albright
“I am often asked if, when I was secretary, I had problems with foreign men. That is not who I had problems with, because I arrived in a very large plane that said United States of America. I had more problems with the men in our own government.” IfsMenSaidStatesProblemGovernmentAmericaUnitedUnited StatesPlanesSecretaryUnited States Of America Author:Madeleine Albright
“One of the things that was really an issue was I did not want to just be a woman secretary of state. I wanted to be a secretary of a state who was a woman, but not just chosen for that particular reason.” WantStatesReasonWantedIssuesParticularChosenSecretary Author:Madeleine Albright
“I never dreamed about one day becoming Secretary of State. It's not that I was modest; it's just that I had never seen a Secretary of State in a skirt.” InspirationalStatesBecomingOne DaySecretaryModestSkirts Author:Madeleine Albright
“Only in America could a refugee girl from Central Europe become secretary of state.” StatesAmericaGirlEuropeSecretaryRefugeeOnly In America Author:Madeleine Albright
“I was not only the first woman to become secretary of state, I was the first [U.S.] secretary of state of the 21st century. I was the first secretary of state to own a Web site, to visit Internet cafes, and to make Internet access a part of policy.” FirstsStatesPoliticsCenturyPolicyInternetAccessSecretarySite21st CenturyCafesInternet Access Author:Madeleine Albright
