madeleine albright. early childhood i was born in smíchov, a town in prague, czechoslovakia on may...
TRANSCRIPT
Earl
y C
hild
hood
I was born in Smíchov, a
town in Prague, Czechoslovakia on May
15, 1937 I was the oldest out of
my siblings, I had one
brother and one sister,
John and Katherine. My father, Josef Korbel,
was a Jewish Czech diplomat, and was married to my mother
Anna Korbel.
Making
Changes
My father was announced Czechoslovak Ambassador,
he moved the family to Belgrade and sent me to
Prealpina Institut pour Jeunes Filles, in Switzerland.
Here, I learned French and my name became
Madeleine, which is French for my nickname Madlenka.
Making AdjustmentsAfter the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
took over the government in 1948, my
father was forced to resign.
He received a position on the United Nations
delegation in Kashmir..
Leavi
ng H
om
e
After he knew about
the delegation, he sent my family and I
over seas to the United states.We arrived in New York
City, New York in November of 1948.
We settled on Long Island, New York.
Exp
lori
ng T
he
New
Worl
d
Once again we moved,
I spent the majority of
my teen years in Denver, Colorado. I graduated from Kent
Denver School in 1955. I then became an
American citizen in 1957.
College LifeI attended Wellesley College in
Wellesley, Massachusetts.
I went to college on a full
scholarship, and majored in
political science. I also joined the
College Democrats of America.
I graduated from college in 1959.
Firs
t C
om
es
Love
, Then C
om
es
Marr
iage…
….
While home in Denver
I worked for the Denver Post. That is where I met my husband Joseph Medill
Patterson Albright. We
got married in Wellesley, shortly after
my college graduation
in 1959.
Then c
om
es
Babie
s!
In 1961, Joseph began
working at Newsday in
New York City. So we
moved to Garden City
on Long Island, New
York.This is where I had my
twins, Anne and Alice.
They were 6 weeks premature.
On T
he M
ove
In 1962 we moved to
Georgetown in Washington D.C.
I began to study international relations,
and continue to study
Russian. After a death in the family, we returned to
Long Island. To help with Joseph’s family business.
Third one’s always the charm.When we moved back to Long Island, I continued my
studies at the Columbia University’s Department of
Public Law and Government.
We also gave birth to another daughter, Katherine, in 1967.
Heart B
roke
nEventually I moved back to
Washington D.C, and
commuted to Columbia for
my PhD.
I received my PhD in 1975.
After returning home from a
political assignment in
Poland, Joseph declared he
wanted a divorce.
Begin
nin
g M
y O
wn
Care
er
In P
olit
ics.
In 1972 I was invited
to organize a fundraising dinner for
the presidential campaign of U.S Senator, Ed Muskie. This led him to giving
me the position of his
chief legislative assistant in 1976.
Being a part of the
United Nations
My first diplomatic position
was when I was appointed
Ambassador of the United
Nations.
I presented my credentials
on Feb. 9th 1993.